


Don’t Look (at Anybody Else)

by silver_fish



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Actress!Zelos, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fem!Lloyd, Fem!Zelloyd, Fem!Zelos, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Sexual Content, Slow Burn, big kradad subplot, harold..., lloyd is clueless she needs help, lloyd’s sexuality crisis aka zelos, martel is the mom we all needed but never had, nothing too raunchy just zelos, strangers to best friends to lovers, they cuddle a lot, zelos is an egoist who hates attention. unless it’s lloyd’s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-05-31 07:25:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 41,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15114578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_fish/pseuds/silver_fish
Summary: Zelos Wilder is popular. World-renowned. Famous in every sense of the word.Obviously, Lloyd has noideawho she is.





	Don’t Look (at Anybody Else)

**Author's Note:**

> i recently decided to replay symphonia for the 2748594th time and man. i rediscovered my favourite pairing, my favourite character, everything i’ve loved about this game since i first played it as a little kid and everything i still love about it, after over ten years’ worth of playthroughs. i’ve tried writing symphonia fic before—a lot of times, in fact; i can’t find them all now, but i have unfinished fics from as far back at 2013—but i’ve never ACTUALLY completed one. so even though it’s taken me like five years, i’m glad to be able to say i finished this, and i’m so excited to post it! thank you [karol](http://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicbubble) for helping me plot this thing out!
> 
> anyway, here is this huge, self-indulgent fic. i wrote this thing in like ten days and now my fingers are dying. i seriously hope you enjoy this!

There are many ways Lloyd would’ve liked to enjoy her first evening free of high school, but she can’t really say that an outing in the city is one of them.

It’s not so bad, she supposes. She, Genis, and Colette decided to meet Sheena and wander the main streets of Meltokio, occasionally stopping to browse in overpriced boutiques or stop and grab a small sample of the food the large city has to offer.

Meltokio is pretty far from home, really, but Colette and Sheena had both been quite insistent about the trip.

“It’s like our first outing as adults!” Colette told her cheerfully, the other day.

“You’re not an adult yet,” Lloyd pointed out, to which she only pouted and said, “But still!”

But Lloyd is bad at saying no to people—especially people named _Colette_ —and so she begrudgingly agreed to go with them, so long as she could rest assured that Genis was going too.

Sometimes, Lloyd cannot help but feel out of place, even amongst her friends.

She’s not very _girly_ , unless one were to count her large chest as a particularly feminine feature. She finds herself lost, more often than not, when Colette and Sheena talk about things together—makeup, shopping, _boys_. She knows that she _is_ a girl; she just doesn’t get the associated “culture.”

But she doesn’t really get along with the boys in her life, either. She works with her dad in the backwoods of Iselia, is good with her hands because of it, but the humour of her male classmates has always gone right over her head, and she cannot understand the ways they show affection for each other, as if they don’t even really like each other. Even Genis and her don’t have much in common, despite their friendship of about a decade.

She sighs, looking out towards an area some twenty metres away, where a large, buzzing crowd has begun to gather.

“What’s going on over there?” Colette wonders, coming up beside Lloyd.

“Dunno,” she says. “Looks like something to avoid, though.”

“Oh,” Sheena speaks up. “I think they’re advertising a movie. It’s pretty big, I guess. Don’t know what it’s about, though.”

“Oh!” Colette perks up. “That’s so cool! Maybe one of the actors is over there?”

“Not worth it to get close to the paparazzi,” Sheena says dismissively. “They’re insane. We’d get trampled.”

“There’s another food place over there that looks all right,” Genis says, pointing in the opposite direction of the crowd. “Wanna go check it out?”

“Sure,” Lloyd says. “You’ll probably have to get home soon, though, huh?”

“Ah, yeah, Raine will want me back before midnight.” He sighs heavily.

“Oh, Lloyd,” Sheena says, as if she has just remembered something, “I wanted to ask if you wanted to stay out with me for a little tonight, since these two can’t.”

Lloyd blinks. “What, like to a bar?”

She nods. “I’d offer to take Colette too, since you guys just graduated and all, but, well…”

Colette laughs lightly. “That’s okay! Drinking isn’t really my thing, anyway.”

This is true; they had tried it together the first time about two years ago, digging into a stash of Lloyd’s father’s. Dirk hadn’t been too pleased with them, but his concern for Colette was much stronger than his irritation with their theft. Colette didn’t really handle the alcohol well, throwing up after only after a couple shots of hard liquor. Lloyd has been told, since then, that _she_ is a lightweight, but she always laughs at that and says, “Well, at least I’m not Colette,” which, when said to anyone who knows the girl, is generally enough to shut them up.

“Sure,” she says. “As long as Colette and Genis feel fine about going back by themselves.”

“We’ll catch the last train,” Colette promises. “Let’s grab a bite to eat first, though!”

She says it as if they haven’t been eating samples of one thing or another all evening long. This thought brings a small smile to Lloyd’s face, and she nods wholeheartedly before leading the group to the food joint Genis pointed out.

“Perfect!” Colette says as they get closer. The sign reads _The Great Tree_ , but below it in a smaller script, it adds, _Bake Shop_. “It looks like it’s all sweets!”

“Desert to end off the night?” Sheena teases. “Be careful! You’re not supposed to eat sugar before you go to sleep.”

“We have a few hours until we’ll get back, anyway,” Genis says, opening the door for them.

They all make their way inside, seeing that there are only a few other patrons inside, sat at little tables with slices of cake or something of the sort between them.

“It all looks so good,” Colette muses, looking at the selections featured in the glass display by the counter.

“Thank you,” the woman behind the counter says, drawing their attention to her. She’s a tall, elegant woman, with long green hair, but her smile is very warm and welcoming. “It’s all freshly baked here, with local ingredients.”

“Wow!” Colette beams. “That’s amazing!”

“Thank you,” she says again. “We put a lot of care into our work here.”

“Do you have a favourite?” Colette asks, bouncing slightly on her balls of her feet.

“I like the cheesecakes,” the woman says. “But my brother prefers the chocolate cake.”

Lloyd steps up beside Colette to inspect the choices. Now that she is closer to the woman, she can see that the name tag pinned to her shirt displays her name as Martel.

Martel… Where has she heard that name before?

“It’s a beautiful evening, isn’t it?” Martel says. “It’s nice when summer starts off so warm.”

“It is,” Lloyd agrees. “What are you going to get, Colette?”

She looks up to her, alarmed. “I—I don’t know! There are too many choices…”

Lloyd laughs lightly. “Well, take your time. What about you, Genis?”

“Maybe I’ll try the cheesecake,” he says.

“Which one?” Martel asks.

“Whichever is your favourite, I guess.”

She laughs. “Vanilla, I think. Is that okay?”

Genis nods, and Martel steps back to put a slice of the cake into a small white box, before setting it by the register and turning to the others, expectant.

“I’ll try the chocolate, then,” Sheena speaks up, and Martel moves to prepare that as well.

When Martel comes back, Colette sighs loudly. “I just don’t know, Lloyd! There are so many choices.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lloyd sees Martel shift slightly, but tries to pay it no mind.

“Let’s just share with Genis and Sheena,” she suggests. “It’s not like we can never come back here.”

“It’s just a two-hour commute,” Genis pitches in grimly.

“I don’t mind sharing,” Sheena says. “I’m not super hungry, anyway.”

“Oh.” Colette looks between her friends, then smiles. “Okay, sure! But, here, at least let me—”

“ _You’re_ the one who just graduated,” Sheena insists, pushing her gently aside and pulling out a bank card. “My treat!”

“Oh, but Sheena…”

“Don’t pout,” Lloyd advises. “Just buy her something next time.”

Martel totals their purchase, but after she hands the card machine to Sheena, she looks to Lloyd and Colette, hesitant. “You’re high school graduates?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd says. “The two of us are.”

“I see.” Her voice is very quiet, her smile faded away. “Well, be careful out there, then.”

Lloyd furrows her eyebrows. “Thanks,” she says, but she isn’t really sure.

Sheena sets down the machine.

Martel jumps a bit, then hastens to close the purchase, handing a receipt to Sheena.

“Have a good evening,” she calls after them as Sheena gathers their cakes and leads them outside, where a couple unused tables stand in front of the shop.

“Was that kind of weird?” Lloyd asks as she sits down between Colette and Sheena and across from Genis.

“Huh? What was weird?”

“That employee in there?” She frowns. “Why did she ask if we were high school graduates?”

“Maybe she was just curious,” Sheena suggests. “We were talking a lot. She seems pretty nice.”

“You’re probably just getting tired, so you’re all worried about nothing,” Genis puts in. “I think she was just being friendly.”

Still, the way Martel’s face changed when they started talking about graduation…

“Don’t worry about it, Lloyd,” Colette says confidently. “Let’s just enjoy the cake! I bet it’s great.”

Lloyd agrees, taking up a fork and trying some of Sheena’s first.

They eat in silence for a while, giving Lloyd a chance to mull over Martel. Finally, it comes to her out of nowhere:

“Oh! I bet she just didn’t graduate! That must be why she looked so sad!”

“Oh!” Colette frowns. “That’s so sad!”

Sheena and Genis share a look that Lloyd cannot decipher, but neither of them say a word about it. Instead, Sheena says, “Well, I’m glad you figured it out, so you won’t have to think about it anymore, right?”

“It makes sense, right?” Lloyd presses.

“It does,” Genis agrees quickly. “Do you want the rest of this?”

He pushes the last bit of his cake towards Lloyd, who promptly splits it with Colette. Within no time at all, they are finished, and Colette collects their waste before hunting down a trash can on the other side of the door.

When she comes back, Genis says, “We should get going, but I hope you guys have a good time. See you tomorrow, Lloyd?”

“Yep!”

“Bye, guys!” Colette smiles widely. “Have fun!”

They wave them off, and then Sheena grabs Lloyd by the elbow and pulls her along.

“I know you don’t like Meltokio much,” Sheena says apologetically. “But I’ll take you somewhere quiet.”

“It’s okay,” Lloyd assures her. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, as long as I’m with you.”

Sheena laughs. “Well, if you say so… Here, we’ll have to get off this street.”

They turn right at the next intersection, and then carry on straight for a couple blocks before taking one more right and arriving on a street with a few dimly lit businesses. The one closest to them looks the cleanest, Lloyd thinks, and it is the only one that still has its sign completely intact, declaring its name as _The Coliseum_.

“This okay?” Sheena asks as they approach the door.

Lloyd nods, and they step in together.

It’s not overly busy, but there are enough people that it isn’t _creepy_. People sit around tables, laughing, while others spin drunkenly in the centre of the floor to a different beat than the one singing through the speakers.

Sheena leads her to the bar, where they sit down together, and when Sheena asks what she wants, she says, “Whatever you’re having is fine.”

The bartender brings them two Rum and Cokes, and the sip on them between simple conversation (“How’s your family?” “Good. What about you dad?” “Same as ever. You going to Mizuho for the summer?” “Maybe. I haven’t decided if I should yet.”)

They both top their drinks off, and Lloyd finds herself wondering if Colette and Genis are all right, if they’ll be home soon, if her dad is waiting for her, if—

Her thoughts are interrupted as someone sits down on her free side. A girl’s voice quietly orders a complicated-sounding vodka-based drink, and Lloyd chances a glance at the person speaking.

She cannot see the girl’s face, as she keeps it down. She’s wearing what looks like sunglasses and a tuque, all her hair seemingly gathered beneath the article.

She must catch Lloyd looking because she turns her head up and glances at her, red-painting lips twitching up into a grin.

“Hey, cutie,” she says, voice a little raspy. She inclines her head towards Lloyd’s steadily emptying drink. “Want a refill?”

Lloyd blinks, her throat going dry. “Ah, um—”

Sheena looks over Lloyd to scowl at the stranger. “Hey, knock it off.”

“Ah, I see.” The girls clicks her tongue. “Overprotective girlfriend? I understand.”

She accepts her drink from the bartender, in exchange for a—

“Keep the change,” she adds.

—one-hundred-dollar bill.

Lloyd stares as she draws her hand back, resting it on the counter. She takes a sip of her drink, and Lloyd has to look away as she realizes she is no longer looking at the girl’s hand, but at her lips.

“We’re not dating,” Sheena snaps. “I just think people who come to places like this to flirt with vulnerable girls are trash.”

Lloyd splutters. “V- _vulnerable_?

Sheena’s cheeks redden slightly. “I—I didn’t mean it like that. Sorry, Lloyd.”

“I was just offering to buy her a drink,” the stranger says flippantly. “How is that ill-intentioned, sweetheart?”

Sheena bristles. “What did you just call me?”

The girl laughs. “Guess you’re right. You’re not really that sweet at all.”

“It’s okay,” Lloyd says loudly. “Let’s not fight about it. Er, if you want to buy me one, I guess you can.”

The girl’s grin widens, and she raises a hand, snapping for the bartender.

“Lloyd!” Sheena hisses at her ear. “She’s trying to pick you up!”

Lloyd frowns. “What?”

“She’s—”

“Here you go, hunny,” the girl interrupts, sliding a fresh Rum and Coke towards Lloyd. “I hope you two aren’t talking about me.”

“Ah, thanks—”

“In repayment,” the girl continues, “you should dance with me.”

Lloyd almost spills the new drink. “H-huh?”

“Oh my God,” she hears Sheena mutter, but barely registers the words.

“You can have more to drink, first, if you want,” the girl purrs. “I’ll be around.”

She stands up and turns to leave, but Lloyd finds her voice and calls out, “Wait!”

She turns, still grinning. “What is it, cutie?”

“What’s your name?”

Her smile falls away. “Just call me Z,” she says. “Hope I’ll see you around, beautiful.”

She turns on her heels, and Lloyd watches her go, watches the way her slender hips move as she walks, the confidence with which she moves her body forward, the snug fit of her jeans over her ass—

Lloyd’s breath catches in her throat, and she looks away, face burning.

“People like that are so annoying,” Sheena rages. “You aren’t even gay!”

“M-maybe she was just being friendly,” Lloyd manages.

Sheena measures her with an odd look. “Are you okay?”

Lloyd almost chokes on her own saliva. “I’m great,” she says, reaching for her drink and downing as much of it as she can before she begins to cough.

“O-okay, then.” Sheena rests an elbow against the counter. “Do you really think you should be drinking so fast? That’s already your third.”

“It’s fine,” Lloyd rasps out between coughs. “I’m an adult, right? I’ll be fine.”

“Somehow, that isn’t very convincing.”

“It’s fine,” Lloyd insists.

She gets another refill.

Her lips started tingling from the alcohol a while ago, but now she finds that even her hands beginning to have the same numb feeling as her lips. Every second thing Sheena says to her, though not really funny at all, strikes her as exceptionally hilarious, and her laughter is infectious to a less drunk but still tipsy Sheena.

Eventually, Sheena steps down, saying she has to use the washroom, and Lloyd is left sitting alone, nursing her fourth drink.

She’s not a complete lightweight, by any means—if she was, she’d have been wasted a long time ago—but she knows she doesn’t have the same experience as other people do.

She finishes off the alcohol and soda in her cup, then dares herself to try standing. She grabs for the counter as she stumbles, then laughs it off and lets go, taking one step away from her seat and turning to survey the bar.

It hasn’t really gotten any busier since they arrived; there are a few couples up dancing, three tables with groups around them, and another person, on their own, sitting at a different table. Lloyd squints in the direction of the solo person, trying to make them out in the darkness, and they raise their head, making eye contact with her across the bar.

It’s that girl from earlier. Z, or whatever.

Lloyd glances back at her empty seat, then shrugs, figuring Sheena will be back soon, anyway. She makes her way across the room, surprisingly only stumbling slightly. Eventually, she reaches the table.

“Hey, there,” Z coos. “Have you come to repay me?”

Lloyd takes a moment, trying to understand the words, and then remembers what the girl said before.

 _In repayment, you should dance with me_.

Lloyd laughs. “I can’t dance,” she says.

“Then, I’ll lead.” She stands up, brushing off her jeans and then holding a hand out to Lloyd. “I figured you wouldn’t be very graceful, anyway. Looks like you’ve had a bit too much to drink, hunny.”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd says confidently. “I can hold my alcohol.”

“Can you, now?” Z murmurs. “Well, we’ll see about that.”

The girl pulls her toward the floor, where a few other couples move together, now quite in time with the upbeat music.

Z pulls Lloyd in close to her by hip, then uses her other hand to guide Lloyd’s up to her shoulders. Then, she clasps their free hands together.

“Just follow me,” she whispers, and her voice is sweet and smooth, like honey, or melted chocolate. An odd feeling ignites deep in Lloyd’s stomach, but in her drunken state, she figures it probably doesn’t mean anything.

She _tries_ to follow Z’s step, but it proves very difficult when her inhibition has left her almost entirely. But Z doesn’t seem to mind, even when Lloyd steps on her toes. She simply laughs, pulling Lloyd along with her across the floor. She spins Lloyd, then catches her again, and, after God knows how long, she brings Lloyd back to her table.

They sit beside each other, and Lloyd looks the other girl over with a critical eye, taking in all she can. She’s still wearing the hat and sunglasses (Lloyd wonders how she’s even able to see in here), but it doesn’t take away from her physical beauty at all. She’s wearing makeup, but it’s nothing more than a bright red lipstick and a natural-looking touch of foundation. Maybe there is more on her eyes, but…

Lloyd sits back, sighing.

“Are you done trying to figure me out, now?” Z asks, amused.

“Why are you…?” Lloyd trails off, unable to think of the words, and simply gestures generally.

“It’s so people don’t recognize me,” she explains. “I’m only interested in the attention of one person here.”

“That makes no sense,” Lloyd complains.

“’Course it doesn’t, sweetie. You’re totally wasted.”

“’M not,” Lloyd mutters. “Just—tipsy.”

Z snorts. “Yeah? Well, if you say so…” She pauses, then pulls a cellphone from her pocket and takes a moment to sift through what looks like a multitude of notifications.

“Oh!” Lloyd makes a grab for the phone, and Z only just manages to pull it away from her, laughing.

“What are you doing?”

“Let me give you my number!”

“Huh?”

“Then we can see each other again,” Lloyd presses.

“You really are drunk out of your mind.” Z shakes her head, but she pulls up the messaging app on her phone and hands the device to Lloyd, anyway.

She types the numbers as quickly as she can, then hands it back. Z takes it and squints at the numbers.

“Er, are you sure this is right, hunny?”

Lloyd looks over her shoulder, pursing her lips. “Ah, no, it’s not… That should be a five, and that should be a seven, and—”

Z cuts her off with a laugh, and she feels her chest tighten at the sound.

“How about you just say it to me?” the girl suggests.

Lloyd does as she’s told, and then Z says, “Have your phone on you?”

Lloyd nods, then goes to find it in her pockets. Her heartbeat speeds up as she realizes it isn’t on her, and then she recalls that she left her things at the bar with Sheena’s.

Perhaps that was a little irresponsible of her, in hindsight.

“It’s with Sheena,” she says apologetically.

“Your friend?”

“Yeah.”

Z hums. “You never told me, but that girl called you Lloyd, right? That your name.”

Her name rolls off of Z’s tongue like the lyrics of a song.

“Y-yes,” she stammers. “Lloyd. That’s my name.”

“Not much of a girl’s name, though, huh?”

“I—I guess so, yeah.”

Z pauses for a moment, considering, then says, “It’s nice, though.”

“You think?” Lloyd asks, dazed.

“Yeah,” Z affirms. “But I should give you back to your friend. Wasn’t very nice of you to leave her all alone like that.”

Lloyd pouts. “I just—got distracted.”

Her smile grows devious, suddenly. “Oh, I know.”

Before Lloyd can even try to comprehend this, Z grabs her arm and pulls her up gently, leading her back towards the bar, where Sheena is sitting with their things.

She looks up as they approach, an eyebrow raised.

“Glad you could return my best friend for me,” Sheena says coldly.

“ _She_ came to _me_ ,” Z says. “But I’m happy to return her. Hope she won’t be too hungover in the morning.”

Lloyd laughs, but she isn’t really sure it’s that funny. Her hands are already wrapped firmly around Z’s arm, but she holds tighter, suddenly unsure if she can really stand on her feet or not.

“Gotta let go, now, hunny,” Z whispers, carefully detaching Lloyd’s grip on her arm. “Sheena will take you home.”

Lloyd blinks, surprised to hear Sheena’s name, and drops her grip on Z.

Z leans down and presses her lips against Lloyd’s cheek, leaving the skin searing and red spreading around it.

“See you around, cutie,” she says, and though Lloyd cannot see her eyes, she swears she hears the wink in the girl’s voice.

She cannot even manage a response, watching dry-mouthed as Z saunters away from them.

“You’re shit-faced,” Sheena says flatly.

“I’m red-faced,” Lloyd corrects. “Isn’t that weird? Must’ve drank too much…”

Sheena sighs heavily. “I don’t get it, Lloyd. Why did you go find her again?”

“That…” Lloyd falters, frowning. “That is a great question.”

“Well, either way… It’s pretty late. Just come to my apartment tonight, okay? I’ll call your dad.”

Lloyd nods, hardly even hearing her.

“Do you have my phone?” she asks suddenly, remembering why she wanted to come over here so badly in the first place.

“Yeah, but, you know, most people don’t appreciate drunk texts.”

Lloyd just laughs, though, accepting the device as Sheena hands it to her.

She turns it on, seeing messages from Colette and Genis, a missed call from her dad, and…

_Hey, cutie <3_

That must be Z, she thinks, heart fluttering.

“Let’s get going so we can get a cab or something,” Sheena says, and Lloyd looks up from her phone, following her on unsteady feet as she leads them out of the building.

Sheena calls a cab, and as they wait, Lloyd pulls up the message from the unknown number. She tries to think of what to type, but nothing clever comes to mind, and so she sends a simple, _Z?_ instead.

“Lloyd,” Sheena says. “Come on.”

The cab has parked in front of them, and Lloyd sits in the back while Sheena takes the front and begins giving directions.

Once her seatbelt is fastened, she checks her phone again, and sees she has received a response:

 _The one and only_.

She thinks back to their interactions tonight, and tries to type out a message of gratitude. What she sends instead is, _Thansk for the fitink_.

She squints.

 _Drinl_ , she sends.

No, that’s not it.

But before she correct herself, Z sends, _You’re very welcome, hunny._

And then, _Don’t forget about me in the morning <3_

Lloyd coughs. Sheena looks back at her, concerned, but she waves a hand quickly, dismissing it.

She focusses on typing and sends back something that has been on her mind all night:

_Your mame isnt reallt Z, is it?_

This time, it is many minutes before a response comes.

_No. Just a nickname._

Oh.

_What is your name?_

Again, minutes pass by. But this time, there is no response. Even once they get to Sheena’s apartment and Sheena helps Lloyd up to her place, there is no response.

Maybe she went to sleep, Lloyd reasons, stifling a yawn at the thought.

“Hope the couch is okay,” Sheena says. “I’ll leave some painkillers on the table for you, so you have them when you wake up.”

“Thanks, Sheena.”

Sheena grimaces. “Don’t mention it. Just—ah, never mind. Good night, Lloyd. Sleep well.”

Lloyd doesn’t press it as Sheena turns and walks away, unsure of what she could even say. She settles on the couch, pulling the blanket that Sheena always keeps folded up on the arm close to her body. She leaves her phone on the floor, and closes her eyes.

For a few moments, she hears Sheena moving around the apartment, and then everything else falls away, consumed by the alcohol-inspired darkness of sleep.

* * *

When Lloyd wakes up, it is with the taste of bile in her throat and a pounding in her head more fierce than any she has ever felt before.

She hastens to sit up, wincing, and prays she won’t vomit. When it seems the hazard has passed, she lets out a short sigh and pulls the blanket she fell asleep tangled in closer to her chest.

The night before is blurry at best, but she knows she is Sheena’s apartment.

In Meltokio.

Her heart skips a beat in her chest, and a sharp pain shoots through her head.

 _Shit_.

She scurries to grab her phone, but sees only one notification there. Nothing from her dad, or Colette, or Genis, or _Raine_ , or—

But she stops, her eyes finally focussing on the message that _is_ there.

From an unknown number, it reads, _It’s Zelos_.

Zelos…

Zelos…

She drops her phone.

Oh, fuck.

Lloyd isn’t _gay_. She’s never had a boyfriend, sure, and she’s tomboyish enough to have been _asked_ if she is, but she’s _not_. Girls are pretty, yeah, but that’s just because, well, they’re _girls_. And _she’s_ a girl. So, she has something to compare them to, aside from each other.

But, apparently, four drinks is more than enough to get her falling all over some sweet stranger with a voice like warm chocolate and words woven together more beautifully than silk.

What is she supposed to do now? She can’t just ignore Zelos, not after she did...all that, but she doesn’t want to admit she was really _that_ drunk, either.

All these thoughts are hurting her head, she thinks. She can consider her options later, but for now, she should deal with her hangover.

She leaves her phone on the floor where she dropped it and makes her way to the kitchen table, where she vaguely remembers Sheena saying she would leave some painkillers.

True to her words, Sheena has left a bottle of aspirin, and so Lloyd takes a couple minutes to hunt down and fill up a glass of water. Eventually, she manages to down a couple of pills and returns to the couch, grabbing her phone to check the time.

It’s only six in the morning.

She groans, flopping back down on the couch and staring up at the ceiling.

She wonders how she managed to let Colette and Sheena convince her to come to Meltokio. How she managed to let Sheena convince her to go to a _bar._ How she managed to let _Zelos buy her a drink and dance with her_.

Maybe she lies there for hours. Maybe it is only minutes. She doesn’t know, but eventually her headache begins to subside, and she hears a door open elsewhere in the apartment and footsteps following shortly after.

“Morning,” Sheena says at the entrance to the room. She’s wearing a baggy T-shirt and old plaid pyjama pants. “Hope you slept well.”

“I wish I hadn’t woken up,” Lloyd says mournfully.

Sheena snorts. “I don’t blame you. Want some coffee?”

Lloyd stands, sighing. “Sure.”

Now that she’s more awake, she is painfully aware of how uncomfortable her clothes are on her. She didn’t even take her red jacket off before falling asleep, and while her jeans are nowhere near as form-fitting as she remembers Zelos’s to be, they’re still not exactly _comfortable_ sleepwear.

“Hey, Sheena,” she says uncertainly.

Sheena looks back at her from where she is dealing with the coffee maker. “What is it?”

“I’m not gay now, right?”

Sheena stares at her for a moment, and then doubles over in laughter.

“H-hey!” Lloyd protests. “I’m serious!”

“I _know_ ,” Sheena wheezes. “That’s the funny part.”

Lloyd huffs.

“ _No_ , Lloyd, you’re not suddenly gay because you had a drunk encounter with a flirty girl. It’s not like it would be a big deal if you _were_ gay, of course, but, well, lots of girl experiment and stuff, or have experiences like that. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

“Oh.”

“I mean, it’s not like romance is super important, anyway. We’re still young, so it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to have it all figured out by now.”

“I’m eighteen,” Lloyd points out.

“And I’m twenty. What’s your point?”

Lloyd sighs, sitting down at the table heaving.

“I just feel kinda bad,” she admits. “I gave her my number and everything.”

Sheena is a quiet for a moment, watching as their coffee brews. Finally, she says, “Wow. Have you ever even give someone your number before?”

“N-no, not anyone I didn’t already know…”

“I see.” Sheena hums thoughtfully. “Has she messaged you?”

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“Not a lot,” Lloyd says, frowning. “I asked her what her name was.”

Sheena pours out two cups of coffee, delivering them to the table. Lloyd takes hers gratefully, taking a sip before Sheena has even gotten the cream and sugar for them.

“What is it, then?”

Lloyd blinks. “Her name?”

“Yeah.”

“She says it’s Zelos.”

Sheena tilts her head, eyebrows furrowed. “Like that one actress?”

“Who?”

“Ah, never mind. Still, it’s an unusual name.”

“...Yeah.”

Sheena sighs. “C’mon, Lloyd, don’t worry about it so much. It’s fine. If you want...I mean, you could just tell her you’re not gay, but you had a good time with her and you’d be interested in seeing her again. Like, as friends?”

“What if she doesn’t want that?” Lloyd frets. “I liked her—or, I think I did, anyway, so—”

“Better to be rejected than to lead her on,” Sheena says wisely. “Just send her a message and explain. Oh, by the way, I called your dad last night. He knows your here.”

Lloyd freezes. She was thinking about it only just a bit ago, but her dad had slipped from her mind immediately.

“R-right. Thanks, Sheena.”

“Let’s go get something for breakfast before you head home,” Sheena suggests. “There’s this place near the station that has good stuff, and it’s pretty early so it shouldn’t be too busy, if we go now.”

“Sounds good,” Lloyd says, then downs the rest of her coffee.

They gather their things up and leave the apartment together. It’s not a long walk to the station, and the early morning leaves them more than enough space for a comfortable walk together. Just like Martel said yesterday, the summer is hot already, despite it only just beginning. Lloyd would say she doesn't mind, but she knows managing the heat in their small house just outside of Iselia will be a difficult task at best.

They get to the restaurant Sheena mentioned and are seated immediately, very near they back. They order, and then sit just like they did at the table at Sheena’s apartment.

“You can’t tell Genis what happened, all right?” Lloyd says. “He’ll never let me forget it.”

On the other side of the restaurant, the door opens.

“Your one-night lesbian experience will go with me to the grave,” Sheena promises.

Lloyd laughs, but before she can get in another word, there is suddenly an uproar by the door.

She turns to look, frowning as she sees a very large crowd gathered there, trying to get into the restaurant to join a slightly smaller group already instead, a couple women in fancy suit dresses and a man with his hand on the arm of a hooded figure, whose head is bent down as they push to the front of the group.

“I thought you said it wouldn’t be busy,” she says, glancing back at Sheena.

“Well, it usually isn’t… They were advertising that movie uptown yesterday, right? Maybe that’s one of the actors or something. Might be heading out to a different city later.”

“Whoever it is doesn’t look too happy with the crowds.”

Sheena chuckles. “I don’t see how anybody could be. I think, even if I was really talented at something like that, the last thing I’d want to do is get famous.”

Lloyd shudders. “Yeah. Too much attention.”

Still, she finds her eyes drawn to the four people, anyway, as the hostess leads them to a table. They’re coming this way, she realizes—

The hostess seats them at the table to the right of Lloyd.

“What a bother,” Sheena mutters, but Lloyd is watching as they all sit down, the hooded person—a woman, Lloyd sees now that they are closer—the farthest away from her. As she sits, she lets out a small sigh and raises her head, dropping her hood to reveal a mane of curly red hair, some of it sticking up wildly from the release of the hood’s weight.

She runs a hand through her hair, then picks up the glass of water the hostess just poured for her and glances around.

Her eyes reach Lloyd, and stop.

There is a moment where they just look at each other, icy blue to brown, and then—

The red-headed girl drops her glass, spilling water all over herself. It hits the floor with an ear-splitting crack.

“Fuck!” she cries, then immediately stands up, biting her lip.

“M-Miss Wilder, please—” one of the women starts, but the girl waves her off scowling.

“Never mind it,” she says. “I’m going to the washroom.”

“Y-you shouldn’t go by—”

“I’ll be fine,” she snaps, turning on her heel and making her way to where the hostess is, halfway between the entrance and the table after hearing the shattering of the glass.

“That’s her,” Sheena says, drawing Lloyd’s attention back to her.

“Huh?”

“That actress I was talking about. Zelos Wilder.”

“Really?”

Sheena nods. “It must be her movie, then… I wonder why she’d come here. I’ve heard she’s pretty, er, _into_ the celebrity lifestyle.”

“Well, as long as that crowd out there doesn’t get in, I don’t mind,” Lloyd says. “She’s just a person, I guess.”

“True enough.”

Before they can discuss it much longer, their waitress returns with their food, and they dig in, the conversation stilling.

Lloyd hadn’t realized just how hungry she was, but now that she is eating, she is painfully aware of it. Though it has gone away greatly, her head still pounds with the alcohol she irresponsibly pounded back the night before.

“You guys will have to come by to visit a few more times this summer,” Sheena says between bites of food. “If I’m not going back to Mizuho, I’d love to have you around.”

“Why aren’t you going back?” Lloyd asks, not having the same decency to chew and swallow _before_ speaking.

But Sheena doesn’t even seem fazed by it, already quite accustomed to this.

“Well, it’s just…” She sighs. “I know it’s home, but sometimes I feel so far away from everyone. And since Grandpa isn’t around anymore…”

“What about Kuchinawa? You guys are close, aren’t you?”

“We were, I guess, but…” She shrugs. “Not all friendships last. We had a bit of a falling out last year and it just isn’t getting any better.”

Lloyd nods, but her attention is drawn to the table next to them as Zelos returns from the washroom, looking significantly less harassed, now. She sees Lloyd looking and winks.

Lloyd chokes on her food.

“Are you okay?” Sheena asks, alarmed.

Between coughs, Lloyd manages a weak thumbs-up.

“That’s what you get for eating too fast,” Sheena teases. “You wouldn’t choke if you didn’t inhale your food.”

Somehow, Lloyd isn’t sure that’s what the problem is, but she swallows and nods, anyway.

“That’s what Colette is always saying too,” she mutters.

“For good reason.”

Lloyd glances at Zelos again, who is chatting and laughing with the waitress, twirling a strand of red hair around her finger.

“I don’t think I can eat any more,” she says.

Sheena measures her with a sympathetic look. “I want to say you deserve it, but I was the one who asked you to go out.”

“It’s okay,” Lloyd says. “I’ll be fine tomorrow. It was a celebratory outing, right?”

“That’s right. Free from high school, a future slave to capitalism.”

Lloyd laughs, but the noise sounds off even to her own ears.

Again, she feels her eyes drifting towards Zelos, whose head is bent down as she inspect a menu, hair falling elegantly around her.

“Well, if you’re done, we should pay and get out of here,” Sheena says suddenly. “I’m sure your dad wants you back sooner rather than later.”

“He might kick my ass,” Lloyd mutters, unable to tear her gaze away from Zelos.

“Just don’t tell him a strange girl tried to pick you up at the bar,” Sheena says, snickering. “Or that you almost _let_ her.”

For some reason, it looks like Zelos’s shoulders tense up, and then she sets down the menu and looks up, eyes wide.

This time, when their eyes meet, nothing breaks. Neither of them wink or anything of the sort. They just watch each other, until the waitress returns, stepping between the tables to set a bill down between Sheena and Lloyd.

“I’ll pay,” Lloyd says, snapping out of her thoughts. “Since you let me crash at your place as everything.”

Sheena looks like she wants to argue for a moment, then deflates and inclines her head, allowed Lloyd to pull out her wallet and leave some cash on the table.

As they walk out, the staff thank them for them patronage and wish them a good day, but all thoughts of good intention abandon Lloyd immediately as they step outside and are instantly bombarded by questions from the gathered crowd:

“Is Zelos Wilder in there?!”

“Did you see Zelos?!”

“Is she as beautiful in person as she is on TV?”

“How much longer do you think need to wait out here like this?”

“Did you get her picture?!”

Lloyd freezes, overwhelmed by all the voices, but is quickly rescued as Sheena grabs her by the elbow and pulls her away.

“Groupies,” she grumbles. “They’re good for nothing.”

Eventually, they make it the train station, thankfully without any of Zelos’s fans following them.

“I’ll be fine if you want to get back home,” Lloyd tells her. “Thanks for everything, Sheena.”

“No problem. I’d say we should do it again, but…”

Lloyd’s cheeks burn. “Y-yeah, maybe it would be for the best if we didn’t… I’ll talk to you later. Let us know once you know for sure if you’re staying. We’ll be by again.”

Sheena grins. “Sounds good. See you, Lloyd!”

She waves and whirls around to begin her trek back home.

Once she is out of sight, Lloyd lets out a small sigh. It’ll be another fifteen or so minutes until the train arrives—thankfully not any longer—and so she takes a seat at an empty bench and pulls out her phone, thinking hard.

She types out a message, then deletes it again d types another in its place. Her finger hovers over the send button, but she shakes her head and erases that one, too. She does this about three more times, and then the train arrives and she hastens to turn her phone off and board. Once she’s inside, though, she begins the process all over again.

About an hour later, she winds up with a message almost identical to the first one.

_It was really nice meeting you, Zelos, and thanks for the drink and the dance, but I need to apologize for letting it all happen. I’m not gay. I was just drunk. I’m sorry for leading you on. But if you’re okay with it, I hope we can at least be friends._

She closes her eyes, finger poised over the button. Just send it, she thinks. Just _send it_. _Just_ —

She inhales sharply, and her hand twitches.

Opening her eyes in horror, seeing that the movement made her hit the send button.

As if to make things worse, the typing bubble on Zelos’s side pops up only seconds later.

_She’s fucked. So fucked._

A message appears beneath hers, and she almost drops her phone.

_I sort of figured. No need to explain yourself to me, cutie. I’m good with friends, but I’m not in Meltokio often._

Lloyd stares, willing her pulse to slow.

_I’m good with friends._

She exhales slowly.

 _Me either,_ she types. _Where do you live?_

Another fast response: _Meltokio, but I travel a lot._

_Travel?_

This one is slower: _For work._

_What do you do?_

No response comes for quite a few minutes, and then for hours. About thirty minutes away from the train station outside of Iselia, Lloyd’s phone dies.

The rest of the way back, she looks out the window and thinks about the night before.

Maybe Sheena is right about what she said. She was drunk, so whatever she felt for Zelos at the time was probably just a product of the alcohol in her bloodstream.

Still, it doesn’t sit quite right with her, when she thinks about how much time she spent just _looking_ at Zelos.

It’s afternoon by the time she makes it home, but her head is beginning to hurt again, for reasons almost entirely unrelated to her hangover.

“Dad?” she calls, stepping into the house.

There is no answer. She figures that means he’s probably outside or something.

That’s okay for her, she thinks. It gives her some more time to think to herself.

She heads up to her room, plugging her phone in and hunting down some fresh clothes and a towel so she can take a shower. She’s quick to get in and out, dressing in a simple shirt and sweatpants before going for her phone again.

There is a reply from Zelos, right around from when her phone died.

_I sell things._

Lloyd frowns, but before she gets a chance to respond, she hears the door open downstairs. She scurries down to meet her dad, who sees her on the stairs and says, “Good to see ya, Lloyd. Sheena told me everything.”

Lloyd freezes up, then wills her shoulders to relax. Her everything and Dirk’s everything are different, she reminds herself.

“Sorry I was so late,” she says. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Dirk assures her. “Just make sure yer around to do extra work tomorrow.”

“I—I will be,” she says, but it does nothing to make the prospect of it any more appealing.

“Good. I’ll be outside if ya need me.”

She nods, allowing him to grab whatever it was he came into the house for and then leave again without a word.

As he exits, she looses a small sigh. It’s well past noon, by now, but Lloyd still feels a bit groggy, as if she has only just woken up. Maybe she needs more rest, she thinks, climbing the stairs back up to her room.

She grabs her phone, squinting at Zelos’s message.

 _Sounds cool_ , she types back, unsure.

Once again, Zelos’s response is almost instantaneous:

_Oh, it is the absolute coolest. You’d be floored to know just how insanely cool it is._

She rolls her eyes.

_Somehow, I’m not so sure it’s really that cool anymore._

_Maybe I’ll show you someday ;)_

Lloyd drops her phone, feeling almost as though it is burning her, suddenly.

“Jesus,” she mutters, flopping on her back on the bed.

What in the world is she _doing_?

* * *

They keep in near steady contact over the next couple weeks, but Lloyd doesn’t find much more out about Zelos aside from her travelling job selling “things” and that she is a resident of Meltokio. But she’s easy to talk to, and by the end of the first week, they have moved on from texting to calls, late at night (“Because I’m so busy throughout the day,” Zelos said seriously, though something about the words made Lloyd laugh, anyway).

They’re fast friends, but Lloyd wishes that there was some way she could _see_ Zelos, be close to her, watch the way her lips move around her words and the way her chest rises with her laughs and the way she smiles, because, fuck, is there’s one thing Lloyd remembers, it’s her _smile_.

But every time she brings it up—“Sheena lives in Meltokio, so I could come visit!” or “It’s only two or so hours away. I don’t mind the commute, really!”—Zelos shuts her down, saying she won’t be around or her place isn’t fit for guests or she’s just too tired right now, maybe Lloyd could bring it up another time and she would consider.

It’s _annoying_.

“Maybe she’s just self-conscious,” Colette suggests.

“I don’t think that really fits the rest we know about her,” Genis points out.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to see you because she’s allergic to dogs and you told her about Noishe?” Colette tries again.

“I’m sure I had Noishe’s fur all over me the first time we met,” Lloyd says miserably.

“Just ask her,” Genis says. “What’s the worst that could happen? You’re friends, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but…”

Genis rolls his eyes. “You’re overthinking it, Lloyd. Just try it and see.”

“I think that’s a good idea!” Colette agrees heartily. “It can’t hurt just to say how you feel.”

Eventually, Lloyd agrees—though begrudgingly—and she asks Zelos to call her that night.

She stands out on the terrace beneath the stars, feeling the summer night soak into her skin. The constellations above her stretch out for miles, as welcoming to her overrun mind as ever.

“Something on your mind, hunny?” Zelos asks after a long moment.

“Yeah,” Lloyd says, but the rest sticks in her throat.

Silence.

A small breeze whistles between the trees.

“Er, you can tell me, you know. I’m not a mind reader, as sad as it is.”

“Why don’t you want to see me?” Lloyd blurts, the bites her tongue, inhaling sharply through her nose.

This silence is different.

Lloyd’s chest aches with it.

Finally, Zelos says, “It’s not you.”

“Is this one of those cheesy movie lines where you say, ‘Oh, no, Lloyd, it’s not _you_ , it’s _me_ ’?”

Zelos laughs softly. “Kinda. That is _super_ clichéd, though.”

“What do you mean, then?”

She sighs. “I know I just make excuses, but—I like that we’re friends. I know I haven’t known you very long, but it’s nice. I think these times are the best of my days.”

Lloyd’s chest hurts with a different kind of pain, now. Something fluttery, which rises up from her abdomen.

“I’m used to people treating me a certain way,” Zelos continues. “But you don’t do that. I knew as soon as I saw you that day that you were different.”

“At the bar?”

Quiet.

Then,

“No.”

Lloyd frowns.

“The day after,” Zelos clarifies. “You know, your friend seems pretty sharp. I bet she put it together, even if you didn’t.”

“What do you mean?” Lloyd asks impatiently. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s what’s so adorable about you,” Zelos coos. “How about this, hunny? You come to Meltokio for the weekend, and I’ll explain everything to you.”

“Huh?”

“You can say no, if you want to.”

“N-no, of course I don’t want to. I just— What?”

Zelos chuckles. “I promise I’m not trying to mess with you. I just would prefer to explain to your face. Is that okay?”

“W-well, I guess so, but—”

“Great! When you come, let me know what your travelling fares were. I’ll pay you back. I’ll probably be pretty busy the next couple days, but I can meet you at the train station on Saturday afternoon. Good night, Lloyd! Sweet dreams!”

She hangs up before Lloyd can even _consider_ getting another word in.

Lloyd lowers the phone slowly, heart pounding furiously in her chest.

Why can’t Zelos just give her a _straight_ answer?

She checks the time on her phone. It’s nearing midnight, and she promised Dirk she would wake up early to help move some wood.

She has a few days to sleep on this, she thinks, and so that is exactly what she does.

Unfortunately, even as Saturday rolls around, she still doesn’t _understand_.

Colette and Genis tell her that it’s probably not that big of a deal, Zelos is probably just embarrassed about something or doesn’t have any way of explaining it verbally, but Raine scolds her, tells her that predators are everywhere, and “I know you’ve grown up here in Iselia, but the city can be dangerous.”

For some reason, she doesn’t tell her dad she is going to meet Zelos; instead, she says she is visiting Sheena. In fact, she hasn’t mentioned Zelos to her dad at all. She’s _tried_ , but the words stick in her throat, and she cannot push them out.

She doesn’t lie often—it’s against the morals she was raised with—but despite the guilt that tears at her, she can think of nothing else to do.

The train ride feels much longer than it ever has before, and Lloyd tries not to think too hard about what Zelos is going to tell her. She fails, of course, and by the time the train pulls into the station, she feels quite similar to how she usually feels after math class.

She doesn’t see Zelos when she steps off the train, and she makes her way to the nearest bench and stands beside it, hoping that maybe Zelos has seen her instead.

The station clears out, though, and nobody comes forward. Still, Lloyd cannot pick out anybody immediately recognizable as Zelos.

Briefly, she wonders if maybe it was all a joke, or maybe Raine was right, or—

“Lloyd?”

She jumps, turning around at the familiar voice to see a less familiar face, framed with long blonde hair. But those sunglasses...

“It’s not my real hair,” she says quickly. “Sorry for scaring you. I just wanted to wait until there were less people around. Here, come with me. Have you had lunch yet?”

Lloyd stares at her.

“Lloyd?”

“S-sorry.”

Now, her lips twitch up a bit. “I don’t look good as a blonde, I know. But, trust me, I’m _much_ more distracting as my regular self.” She pauses when Lloyd doesn’t respond and adds, “We can stop by somewhere and grab a bite to eat, if you want.”

“N-no, I think I’ll be okay.”

“If you say so. Come with me, then, hunny.” Zelos reaches for her arm, taking it gently and pulling her along. “It’s not a long drive, promise.”

They come out of the station and Zelos leads her to a sleek black car. A man, who looks vaguely familiar as Lloyd draws closer, stands outside the back door, hand over the handle.

“Miss Wilder,” he says, going to open the door, but Zelos shakes her head.

“Just drive,” Zelos tells him dismissively.

He nods, turning and getting into the driver’s seat.

In his absence, Zelos reaches over and opens the door for Lloyd.

“After you,” she purrs.

Lloyd hesitates a moment, trying to think of where she has heard that name before. _Wilder_ …

After a moment, she recalls where she is and hastens to step inside the vehicle, Zelos climbing in after her and closing the door behind them.

“We’re just going home, Sebastian,” she directs the driver.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Zelos turns to Lloyd, now, and removes her sunglasses, folding them and setting them carefully on her lap. Her eyes are bright blue, as cold as ice and yet very warm as they meet Lloyd’s.

“I’m sorry for dragging you all the way out here,” she says. “I always get paranoid about phone calls, and I wasn’t sure if you’d still want to see me if I didn’t tell you in person.”

“What are you talking about?”

Zelos laughs. “I think your obliviousness is really endearing, hunny.”

“Can’t you just—”

Zelos puts a finger over her lips, silencing her and spreading a painful rose across her cheeks.

“I was talking about the day after we met,” Zelos continues softly, eyes locked on Lloyd’s. “When you were having breakfast with your friend. I—I didn’t hear you say it myself, but my own companions overhead you talking. Normally, I don’t hunt out people I seek out on lonely nights, but you were different. For one, we didn’t sleep together. For _two_ , you saw me the very next day, and you said, according to Sebastian, here, anyway, that you don’t really care about who I am. Normally, I’d get a person drunk enough to forget me. If they gave me a number, I’d block them. If they asked for _my_ number, I’d give them a fake one. But you never even put it all together. You pushed me to see you again, sure, but it wasn’t for the same reasons anybody else ever has.” She pauses, lowering her gaze with furrowed eyebrows. “I know you don’t want romance. Now that I know you a bit, I don’t either. Genuine friends aren’t so easy to come by, in this business.”

Lloyd is quiet for a moment, considering Zelos. She thinks back to what Sheena said. _Like that one actress?_

_Zelos Wilder._

“Oh,” she breathes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t—”

“You’re right,” Lloyd interrupts.

Zelos looks up at her, eyes wide.

“You look a lot better with your natural hair,” Lloyd clarifies.

Zelos lets out a sharp laugh, then reaches up and pulls the wig off. She takes the cap holding her hair up off, too, and shakes her head a bit to allow her red tresses to flow freely.

“I didn’t even know who you were,” Lloyd admits. “Sheena said something about you, but I had no idea.” Her cheeks tingle slightly. “I’m just not that into pop culture, I guess.”

“I would love to say the same,” Zelos says with a sigh, “but I _live_ in it.”

“You seem to have a lot of, uh, _disguises_ , though.”

Zelos’s laugh is light and airy. It rings between Lloyd’s ears like the soft song of a windchime.

“Sometimes, it’s nice to meet people just as a pretty girl rather than a famous one.”

“So, you…”

“Sleep around a lot?” Zelos guesses, and Lloyd’s face sears with it.

“Th-that wasn’t _quite_ what I—”

Zelos just smiles, though. “It’s okay. Yeah, I kinda do. Everyone wants to have sex with Zelos Wilder, but there’s something comforting about someone wanting to have sex with _me_.”

“When we met, then…”

“Well, your friend Sheena warned you I was trying to pick you up, didn’t she? She’s right about me. I’m not really a great person.” She stops and coughs lowly, then shoots Lloyd what looks to be an incredibly rehearsed grin. “But I can do my best for you, to be your friend.”

“I don’t think you’re a bad person.”

Zelos’s lips part slightly, a whistling giggle slipping out between them.

“Well, thanks, then, cutie. I don’t think you’re so bad yourself.”

Before Lloyd can say anything, she turns her gaze away and looks out the window.

“We’re almost there,” she says. “I’ll show you around.”

Lloyd’s voice sticks in her throat, and she can think of nothing else to say. Thankfully, the rest of the drive passes very soon, and Sebastian pulls into the back driveway of a house in the upper end of Meltokio. All the houses here are very large, with gorgeously decorated lawns and exteriors.

Lloyd doesn’t know why, exactly, but discomfort stirs in her chest at the sight.

The car comes to a stop, and then the engine cuts. Sebastian comes around to the door on Zelos’s side and opens, holding it in place until Zelos and Lloyd have both gotten out.

“Welcome to the Wilder mansion,” Zelos says, but her lips twist a little sardonically at the words. “It was my parents’, and now it’s mine.”

“You live alone?” Lloyd asks, surprised.

“Well, Sebastian lives here, too, and people come around to tend the gardens and stuff, but...yeah, basically.”

“Don’t you have any other family?”

Zelos pauses as they near the door, then looks back to Lloyd with a startled laugh.

“You really don’t know me, huh? Well, that’s all right. There’s lots of time to learn everything there is to know. No, I don’t have any _living_ family, at least.”

“It must get lonely.”

“It’s not so bad,” Zelos says, pushing the door open. “More space to myself, if nothing else.”

Lloyd frowns, but chooses not to push it, instead allowing Zelos to lead her inside.

It’s _huge_ , the floor made up of reflective, shining marble, and the ceiling higher than any Lloyd has ever seen before. The entrance opens out into what looks like a sitting room, complete with white leather furniture and a grand piano pushed off to the side. On the north wall, there is a large painting of a very regal woman, her long blonde hair tied up in an elegant knot atop her head, only a few loose, curly strands hanging down. Her eyes are deeply blue.

Beneath the portrait, on a golden plaque, the words _Mylene Wilder_ are engraved.

“This house was built by my father,” Zelos explains, sitting on the couch and folding one leg over the other, watching Lloyd carefully. “He made is large enough that he wouldn’t have to see my mother so often. By his request, it was built to have over twenty rooms, all of them with lockable doors.”

“I...I see.”

“My mother was a French woman,” Zelos continues. “My father a famous actor. They married on a whim, had a child, and could no longer stand one another.”

Lloyd stares at her.

“Sit down, Lloyd,” Zelos says, amused. “You won’t break anything. And even if you did, it’s easily replaceable.”

Lloyd glances back, at the empty sofa across from Zelos, and then to Zelos again, helpless.

“Here,” Zelos encourages, patting the cushion to her left.

Lloyd accepts this invitation without another moment of hesitation, but finds she cannot sit comfortably on this couch at all.

Zelos seems unfazed by this, though, continuing with, “After my father’s untimely passing and my mother’s even _more_ untimely passing, I was left here on my own.”

“...How long ago was this?”

Zelos pauses, then begins counting on her fingers.

“Ah, fifteen? Sixteen?” She shrugs. “It was a long time ago, that’s for sure. It doesn’t bug me, if that’s what you’re asking,” she adds. “I’m just telling you, because I’d prefer you hear it from me than read it on some online article written by somebody else. That’s pretty much the gist of my life. Famous by association, more famous by tragedy, and sometimes I act well in movies.” She winks. “It’s pretty boring, really, but it gets me by.”

“Don’t you enjoy your life?”

Zelos smiles ruefully. “You ask funny questions, sweetie.”

“That’s not an answer,” Lloyd mutters.

Zelos hums. “I do, but some parts of it I could probably go with it. That’s not all I brought you here for, though.”

She pauses, and Lloyd watches her, waiting.

Finally, she breaks into a grin and says, “Let me show you around a bit, hunny.”

Lloyd is given no time to protest before Zelos is standing and helping her up, and then pulling her all around the mansion.

There are too many rooms to keep count of, and Lloyd’s head begins to ache with it before they even hit the tenth one. There are bedrooms, bathrooms, game rooms; and entire room dedicated to just a billiard table and another that only holds a huge projector and screen. It’s surreal, to say the least, and Lloyd feels rather homesick for her little home in the Iselia woods.

Eventually, they come back to the sitting room, and there is a tray of what looks like coffee sitting on the table.

Lloyd’s eyes drift to the grand piano. Somehow, she isn’t sure if she can imagine Zelos playing it.

Zelos must see her looking, though, because she says, “I used to know someone who played. We don’t talk anymore.”

“Then why keep it?”

Zelos says nothing for a moment, and Lloyd turns back to look at her, suddenly worried she has said the wrong thing.

But Zelos’s lips twitch, and she says, “Because maybe a part of me hopes she will come back.”

“Zelos—”

“How do you take your coffee?”

Lloyd stops, her chest stuttering. “Ah, uh, just black is fine…”

“Surprising that someone so sweet wouldn’t take some sugar,” Zelos teases. Lloyd watches as she pours out their coffee, frowning as she sees that, despite her easy tone and even easier grin, Zelos’s hands tremble slightly.

“You don’t bring many people here,” Lloyd guesses.

Zelos inhales sharply, and coffee sloshes over the edge of the cup, onto the tray. She curses, setting the pot down and looking up to Lloyd with a strained smile.

“No, I don’t. It’s like the only place people can’t follow me to.” She laughs, but the sound is entirely mirthless. It grinds against Lloyd’s ears like nails on a chalkboard. “It doesn’t feel safe to bring people here, even when I am with others. Like when I pick up some cute girl in a bar, y’know?”

Lloyd’s breath catches in her throat. “So, I’m here because…”

“I don’t want you to be some cute girl in a bar,” Zelos finishes. “That’s why. Here.”

She passes Lloyd a coffee cup, filled only about three quarters.

“Thanks.”

“This is big for you, isn’t it?”

Lloyd blinks, surprised. “Y-yeah, a bit. I mean, I live outside a village with less than five hundred people in it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house this big in my life.”

Zelos laughs. “C’mere, sit beside me.”

Once again, they resume their place together on the couch.

“Tell me about your hometown,” Zelos requests. “About those friends you love so much.”

Lloyd stares at her.

“C’mon, hunny, I want to hear!”

“Uh, okay.” Lloyd looks down to her coffee. “Well, I didn’t live in Iselia my whole life… I don’t know where I used to live, but it can’t have been far away.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m an orphan, I guess. My dad is my dad, obviously, but my birth parents were probably from a different city or something. Nobody knows. But I don’t really mind. I wouldn’t have met the people I know now if I hadn’t been adopted by my dad.”

“That’s an impressively optimistic view on being abandoned by your parents.”

Lloyd takes a contemplative sip of coffee.

After a long pause, she says, “I just don’t want to believe they had any other choice.”

“I see.”

She tries not to think too hard about the bitter lining of Zelos’s tone.

“Colette and Genis are my best friends. We went to school together. Genis is in advanced classes, because he’s so smart, but he’s still a lot younger than us. He still has a couple years of school to go. His sister, Raine, was our teacher. Everyone kinds know each other in Iselia, but not the way everyone knows each other in places like this. It’s nice. Like having a really big family.”

“Huh.” Zelos runs a hand through her hair, drawing Lloyd’s attention upwards. She seems to do it without even noticing, the strands twisting between her fingers like silken ribbons. Lloyd watches, entranced, as she pulls her hand down and gives her head a small shake, majestic red creating gentle waterfalls over her shoulders.

“You grew up here, right?” Lloyd manages, voice a little tight with dryness. She quickly puts her coffee in her mouth, looking away from Zelos.

“In this very house.” Zelos taps a finger against her knee twice. “I thought about moving away, for a while, but it would’ve taken too much effort. And it’s not like I dislike the house. Just…”

The emptiness of it, maybe.

“You could come to Iselia sometime,” Lloyd offers uncertainly.

Zelos laughs, looking at her with dubious blue eyes. “What, me? In that little country town? I don’t think I’d fit in, hunny.”

Lloyd frowns. “It’s not so bad, you know. Just small. Besides, nobody would bother you much. Probably.”

“I’ll think about it,” Zelos promises. “For now, will you let me show you all the fun parts of Meltokio life?”

When Lloyd hesitates, Zelos puts a careful hand on the lower part of her thigh.

“No paparazzi,” she says. “Nothing crazy, either. Just us. All the cool restaurants, nice bars—whatever. You name it, I’ll take you there. What do you say?”

She looks so earnest— _sounds_ so earnest—in a way that Lloyd has never experienced with her before. There is a part of her that knows this sort of lifestyle isn’t hers, that she will stick out like a sore thumb no matter where she goes, but...she does that anyway, she sometimes thinks.

Before she is even aware she is speaking, her voice drifts between them:

“As long as it’s with you.”

Zelos grins. “I knew you’d agree. Then, let’s start planning…”

* * *

Zelos’s idea of planning happens to consist of a _lot_ of time spent in Meltokio. Eventually, it becomes unreasonable that she is only visiting Sheena, considering that, normally, she’s lucky if she sees Sheena even once a month. But with Zelos paying her train fares, it is no difficult task to travel to Meltokio multiple times a week. During the long commute, Zelos keeps her company over the phone, and enthuses about what their adventures for that day will be.

She asks Colette how she should approach breaching the subject with her dad, but Colette just stares at her blankly and asks, shocked, “You _haven’t_ told him yet?”

“Is it because she’s famous?” Genis wonders. “Are you worried he’ll get all overprotective?”

“Well, n-no, not really…”

In reality, she has no idea _why_ she hasn’t mentioned it even after all this time.

But it has been over a month, now, since she first met Zelos, and their friendship has been fast and easy, but it is distinctly different from the relationship Lloyd shares with her other, long-time friends. Zelos is _touchy_. In fact, Zelos is affectionate in every way imaginable. Zelos’s words twist Lloyd’s tongue into knots and paint her face crimson, more often than they don’t. She is acutely aware of how _physical_ they are, but understands that this is just something close female friends do...according to Sheena, at least.

Whatever it is that is keeping her from being honest tears at her chest rather painfully.

“Well, we can help you!” Colette decides. “It’ll be okay! Even if he’s unhappy you kept it from him, he still loves you and wants the best for you.”

“I wouldn’t say Zelos is the best for her,” Genis remarks.

“I don’t know…” Colette frowns. “Don’t you think she looks happier?”

“I was never _unhappy_ ,” Lloyd protests.

“Yeah, but, now, you’re even happier! That’s a good thing!”

Lloyd and Genis both snicker at this, which Colette takes as a good sign and beams.

They decide that the best course of action is to just get it over with, and then, maybe, see if Zelos can’t be convinced to come to Iselia and meet everyone.

“I want to know what she’s like, aside from the stories you tell of her!” Colette insists. “And—the pictures you guys have together, she looks so different than the ones on the Internet.”

“That’s because she’s always wearing some stupid disguise or another,” Lloyd mutters. “I wish she didn’t have to do that.”

“Is she prettier in person?” Colette wonders.

Lloyd’s cheeks sear at the question. “Y-yeah, I guess so.”

“Lloyd’s embarrassed,” Genis singsongs.

“Shut up,” she grumbles, and though he and Colette laugh, the conversation falls away.

Of course, Colette and Genis can only help her so much, and so she eventually forces herself to get her dad alone after dinner, sit at the table with him, and she immediately loses any nerve she had.

“This is about whatever you’ve been doin’ in Meltokio, isn’t it?”

Lloyd sighs, looking away from him.

“Ye don’t have to tell me, but—”

“I met this girl,” Lloyd blurts. “She’s terrible. She’s flirty and outgoing and she can’t even leave her house without being attacked by the paparazzi because she’s so rich and famous. She gets so much attention without even trying, but—” She stops, jaw clenched in frustration. “But when she talks to me, I feel like I’m the only person she has that she can really call a friend. And when she looks at me, I feel like there isn’t anybody else she would _rather_ be looking at. She’s kinda crazy, she’s too rich for her own good, but...the time we spend together is really important to me.

“I don’t know _why_ I didn’t say anything. I’ve known her for over a month. Every time I tried to tell you, I panicked and couldn’t say anything. I’m sorry,” she adds. “I know it was wrong of me to lie, but I…”

Dirk is quiet, waiting for her to finish, but she doesn’t know what else she could possibly say.

After a moment, he seems to pick up on this, because he nods slowly and says, “I knew.”

Lloyd’s head moves so fast it almost hurts her neck. “Huh?”

“Raine told me, jus’ bits and pieces. Though it is nice to hear it from _you_.” He puts a hand against the table. “I don’t think it’s okay that ye lied, but I think I can understand why ye did. I jus’ hope ye know that if somethin’ is ever grating on ye…”

“I know,” she says, relief flooding through her. “Thanks, Dad.”

“It’s nothin’. I’m always here if ye need me, remember.”

Lloyd nods.

She sometimes thinks that she doesn’t give Dirk enough credit for raising her. Being a single father of a young, orphaned girl _probably_ isn’t the easiest thing. Lloyd knows what she has, of course, and she’s grateful for it, but…

“I want to invite her here,” she says. “To meet you and Colette and Genis and Raine. It’s just taking some convincing, on her end.”

“Well, I’d be happy to host if ye do.” Dirk stands up, suddenly. “Is that everything?”

Lloyd doesn’t know why, but she feels her heart sink a bit.

“Yeah,” she says. “That’s everything.”

But even as he heads outside to finish off the day’s work, Lloyd cannot help but feel like it isn’t everything at all.

Still, she decides not to focus on it, and the next time she sees Zelos, she decides to bring it up.

“It’s been weeks,” she says. They’re in Zelos’s room, curled up together on her bed while the girl in question scrolls through one social media feed or another. “I promise it’ll be quiet. You don’t even need to talk to anybody but me, if you don’t want to. But—”

“Lloyd,” Zelos says seriously, “I’m probably the last person you want to take home to meet your parent.”

Lloyd huffs, detaching herself from Zelos’s side and flopping down on the bed to stare at the ceiling.

“Don’t pout, hunny,” Zelos coos, setting her phone aside and leaning over Lloyd. Her hair spills down around her shoulders, just low enough to brush against Lloyd’s chest.

Lloyd’s breath catches in her throat, and she looks up at Zelos with wide eyes.

Zelos’s lips are twisted slightly, in an expression Lloyd cannot even begin to comprehend. Her icy gaze moves up Lloyd’s body, from her chest to her face before finally settling on her eyes.

“You know,” she says slowly, “there’s something I’ve kind of been wondering about, Lloyd.”

“Wh-what is it?”

There is a moment of silence, where all they do is look at each other, Lloyd’s heart pounding wildly in her chest. Zelos is moving closer to her, she registers, and then—

Zelos’s hands shoot out, reaching for her hips, and her fingers dig into Lloyd’s side, drawing a gasping laugh from Lloyd’s lips.

“Z-Zelos!” she cries, trying to pick herself up to avoid the assault but failing as giggles overwhelm her.

“Ah, I guess I was right!” Zelos singsongs. “You really _are_ ticklish!”

Lloyd manages to get her hand around Zelos’s slim wrist, then smirks as she realizes exactly what the means for her.

In one swift movement, she flips Zelos on her back, finding herself over top of the girl, one leg braced on each side of her.

“I’m stronger than you are,” she boasts.

She sees Zelos’s chest stutter slightly, and then the girl reaches a hand up, putting to fingers beneath Lloyd’s chin.

“You are,” she breathes. “Should’ve known better than to provoke you, hmm?”

Lloyd can’t find her voice, suddenly. She suspects it is lying somewhere between her throat and her lips, dangerously near where Zelos’s fingers are.

“You win, then,” Zelos says. “Do with me what you—”

Without even really thinking about it, Lloyd’s fingers go for Zelos’s ribs.

She squirms beneath Lloyd, letting out a shrill cry. “Th-this isn’t fair!” she chokes out between wheezing laughs. “L- _Lloyd_.”

“What do you mean?” Lloyd asks, stalling her hands. “You did it to me first!”

“But you’re sitting on me!”

Lloyd stares at her for a moment, baffled, then snorts and drops her head against Zelos’s chest, laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Zelos protests. “You’re _heavy_!”

“Oh, come on, I’m not _that_ heavy.” But she crawls off of Zelos, anyway, sitting back beside the girl. “I thought you told me you worked out!”

“ _Worked_ out,” Zelos stresses. “I don’t anymore!”

“Maybe you should start.”

“My figure is perfect, thank you very much.”

Lloyd, unfortunately, can find no argument against this.

“Oh, speaking of _figures_ , though, there’s this bake shop that opened up a few months ago—ah, maybe it’s closer to a year, now that I think about it. But, anyway, I wanted to take you there. If you don’t mind that is.”

Lloyd considers her for a moment, then says, “Sure, but…”

“But what?” Zelos asks, sitting up and running a hand through her hair in an attempt to fix the mess it has become through their antics.

“Do you think...you could go as yourself?” Lloyd ventures.

Zelos freezes.

“You don’t have to,” she adds quickly. “I just mean—”

“I don’t do it for me, Lloyd.”

“...Huh?”

“It’s for you,” Zelos clarifies, turning to meet her eyes. “As soon as one person gets a picture of us together, you’ll be on every headline in the fucking country. I…” She stops, biting her lip. “It’s not that enjoyable, all the media attention.”

“I don’t mind,” Lloyd insists. “I know you just want to protect me, but I’ll be okay. I can take it.”

“I think you’re seriously doubting the influence of the paparazzi,” Zelos mutters.

“It’s fine,” Lloyd presses. “Please.”

“Well, it’s your choice, but…”

“I’ll be fine. Please, Zelos?”

“You’re so hard to say no to,” Zelos grumbles. “Fine, but if they find out where you live, just let me know and I’ll see if I can send someone over there.”

“Excuse me?”

Zelos grimaces. “I wish I could say I was joking, but it wouldn’t be the first time… Oh, and my reputation sort of...precedes me, I guess. Just be aware that if there’s any speculation about who you are, they’ll probably go for the _girlfriend_ route.”

“O-okay.”

“Still want to do it?”

Lloyd looks at her for a moment, taking in everything about her expression, the little crease between her eyes, the bright question in her eyes, the downturn of her lips…

“Yeah,” Lloyd decides. “I do.”

“If anybody gets in your business, let me know,” Zelos says, twisting around again and standing up. “Maybe I don’t work out anymore, but I think I could still manage a decent left hook.”

Lloyd laughs. “That won’t be necessary. Come on, let’s go.”

“Does my hair look okay?” Zelos asks, once again trying to right the mussed strands.

“Here.” Lloyd stands and comes to her side. Though Zelos is taller than her, their height difference is only a couple inches at best. Carefully, Lloyd combs her fingers through Zelos’s hair. She’s wanted to, of course, but this is the first time she’s ever touched it. It is somehow even softer than it looks.

She lets her hands linger a little longer than she should, perhaps, but eventually she steps back, arms dropping.

“It looks okay to me.”

“I hope your judgement is trustworthy, then,” Zelos teases. “We can walk from here, if you want to, but a lot of people will see us.”

“Walking is good for you,” Lloyd says, grinning. “If you’re not gonna work out, at least get out and walk a bit.”

“I walk lots of places.” Zelos opens up the door and grins. “ _Après tu_ , beautiful.”

This is another thing Lloyd has learned about Zelos since meeting her. She’s not fluent, she insists, but her mother was and, despite the woman not being around anymore, Zelos spends some of her downtime studying French.

“It’s a romantic language,” she said. “Makes girls go crazy.”

Lloyd’s still not so sure, though; she can’t say it even impresses her much anymore, after the first couple times.

Lloyd steps out of the room ahead of her, leading the way down the spiral staircase. She’s getting used to this place, though she still feels it is much too big for her comfort.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Lloyd asks as they get to the front door.

“We’ll be back in a few hours, Sebastian,” Zelos calls out, before turning to Lloyd with a quick smile. “That bake shop. The woman who runs it is super sweet. It’s called The Great Tree.”

The Great Tree… Lloyd hums, thoughtful.

“Sounds familiar,” she says.

“Maybe Sheena’s a fan too,” Zelos muses. “Martel is a wonder to work with. She’s been supplying us with food for our functions in Meltokio for years.”

Martel?

Lloyd stops, blinking.

“I remember now. We went there the night I met you.” She frowns.

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no.” She closes the door behind her gently, then turns to Zelos again. “It’s nothing.”

“If you say so.” Zelos pauses. “Here, give me your hand.”

“Huh?”

Without a word, Zelos reaches down and laces their hands together. She leads Lloyd down the steps and to the sidewalk, taking a right from there.

It’s very quiet around here, but Lloyd suspects that it is only because so many people who live here are too rich to stay in one place—or leave their houses at all, maybe. She’s learned since her first time here that this area is called Meltokio Heights, and a good portion of the population are celebrities (she has met a few of them, like the Bryant family, who apparently own a very expensive hotel chain).

“Martel and her husband have been running a catering service for years,” Zelos explains as they walk. “Martel does the service, Yuan does the accounting, and both of them are heavenly bakers. I met her just a few years back—I must’ve been about seventeen, maybe—and I always wondered why she’d never opened up a real shop. Apparently, she just couldn’t afford it. Obviously, I can’t go around giving out loans to people, but as long as she was working for me, I could pay her as much as I wanted.”

“That’s incredible.”

“I think talented people deserve the chance to make something with what they have.” She sighs. “Some of us wind up where we are by circumstance alone.”

“You’re talented,” Lloyd protests. “It’s not your fault you were born to someone famous.”

“People wondered,” Zelos says. “Even now, people say I’m only so popular because people liked my father’s movies. Seems a little silly to me, though. The only thing we really have in common is the colour of our hair.”

“That’s not fair to you.”

Zelos laughs lightly and winks at her. “That’s show business, baby. Here, this way will take less time.”

By now, they have neared the busier areas of the Meltokio streets, which are bustling in the afternoon hour.

Already, people are turning their heads.

Zelos’s hand slips out of Lloyd’s.

“This way,” she says tightly, turning to the left. Lloyd hurries after her, pulse bounding beneath her skin.

They cut through a few alleys, which seems rather unsafe from what Lloyd has heard of life in the city, but eventually they reach a familiar street, which is only about a block away from where Lloyd remembers The Great Tree being.

This time, it is impossible to avoid the people around them. Some point, while others whip out phones and cameras. Others, though they almost feel more rare than the rest, simply ignore them, uncaring.

“It’s the hair,” Zelos mutters. “It’s impossible to mistake.”

Someone behind them cries out, “Please take a picture with me, Zelos!”

“Ignore them,” Zelos advises, but some part of Lloyd feels like it is more to herself than to Lloyd.

Eventually, they make it to The Great Tree, and Zelos is quick to open the door for Lloyd. A small bell chimes as the door closes behind them, and Lloyd looks up to see, the very same as that night about a month ago, Martel watching her from the counter.

This time, though, the woman’s eyes are narrowed, as if she is scrutinized Lloyd.

“Hey, Martel,” Zelos says, stepping up to the counter. It’s quieter in here than it was last time, but those who are around at the few tables within the shop turn to look, mouths and eyes wide.

“Good afternoon, Zelos,” Martel greets, her eyes finally flitting away from Lloyd. “It’s been a while.”

“Been pretty busy,” she says easily. “But it’s calming down again, now that the movie’s been out for a couple weeks. Gives me more time to come by and visit my favourite bake shop.”

Martel laughs. “You always flatter us. Are you two together?”

Once again, her eyes are on Lloyd.

“That’s right,” Zelos says.

“Lloyd, right?”

Lloyd blinks. “How do you—?”

“I have an impeccable memory,” Martel tells her with a smile. “I was hoping you might come by here again. I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions.”

Lloyd looks to Zelos, confused, but Zelos only shrugs.

“Ah, okay,” Lloyd says, looking back to Martel. “Do you—?”

“Come back here with me,” Martel urges. “It’ll only take a minute. Zelos will wait out here for you, so don’t worry.”

Lloyd looks to Zelos again, but the other girl can offer nothing but a quick, perplexed smile.

She follows Martel’s directions to come behind the counter, and then follows the woman into the kitchen, where she reaches behind Lloyd to push the door closed.

“Yuan,” she says, and a blue-haired man who stands near the back starts, glancing back at her. Beside her is a boy, about Genis’s age, if Lloyd has to guess, and the blue-haired man says something to him quickly before crossing the room to join Martel.

“This is the girl I was telling you about,” Martel says.

“I see,” the man—Yuan?— muses. “I see what you’re saying.”

“You’re not, like, planning to kill me or something, right?” Lloyd asks, uncertain.

Martel laughs. “Goodness, no. I just thought you looked a little familiar the first time I saw you. Where do you live, Lloyd?”

“Uh, just outside of Iselia.”

“Quite the distance to travel. I had no idea Zelos had friends so far from here.”

“I—I think I’m the only one.”

“You’re freaking her out,” Yuan says, exasperated. “What Martel is really trying to ask is who you live _with_.”

“Huh? Well, it’s just me and my dad. Why?”

“Dad…” Martel hums, thoughtful. “Are you adopted, Lloyd?”

“W-what?!”

“That may be a little too straightforward,” Yuan mutters.

“Ah, you’re right.” Martel frowns. “Sorry. Um—well, this is going to sound kind of crazy, but I used to know someone, a long time ago. A little girl, with the same name as you.”

Lloyd stares at her.

“I didn’t want to assume, by any means,” she continues, “but you look a lot like him.”

“Him,” Lloyd echoes. “Who are you talking about?”

“That girl’s father,” Yuan says quietly.

Lloyd’s mouth feels very dry, suddenly.

“He’s been looking for his daughter for a very long time,” Martel says. “Somewhere along the way, we all convinced him she had passed away.”

Lloyd shakes her head. “Th-that’s not funny. You don’t even know me. My parents are dead.”

Yuan and Martel exchange a short look, then Martel crosses her arm over her chest, looking quite sad, suddenly.

“Do you know your parents’ names, Lloyd?” Yuan presses.

“I— This isn’t— I’m not here to—”

“I know,” Martel says. “I’m sorry… I wasn’t sure what else to do. I’m sure neither of us wants to put this on Zelos, either.”

Lloyd’s eyes sting, but she screws them shut and takes a deep breath.

“My parents are dead,” she says again. “There’s no way you know me.”

“Lloyd isn’t exactly a common girls’ name,” Yuan reminds her.

“You’re the right age,” Martel adds. “Eighteen, right?”

Lloyd looks away from her, chest tight.

“Do you know your parents’ names, Lloyd?” Martel tries again, gentler than her husband was.

Lloyd counts to five in her head. She wonders if this is a dream, or some other product of her imagination. But none of it is going away. Martel and Yuan are waiting for a response. Behind them, the young blonde boy pulls a tray out of the oven, filling the room with the warm scent of freshly baked cookies.

“Anna,” she finally says. “That’s my mother’s name. Anna Irving.”

“Jesus,” Yuan mutters.

“I see,” Martel whispers. “Do you know much about her?”

Lloyd doesn’t look at her.

“This is a lot, I know.” Martel’s tone is apologetic, but Lloyd cannot even begin to imagine why. “We want to get you in touch with your father, if—”

“I’m sorry,” Lloyd finally manages, her voice strong despite the tightness in her throat. “I already have a father. I’m here to enjoy an afternoon with my good friend, if you don’t mind, before she gets mauled by some crazy, lovesick fans, so I’m going to do that. Thank you, anyway.”

She turns and makes her way out of the kitchen without another word, heart beating fast.

Zelos sees her immediately, concern knitting her brows as she meets Lloyd’s eyes.

“What’s the matter?” she asks as Lloyd approaches.

“I don’t think we should stay here,” Lloyd mutters. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Huh? Lloyd—”

“ _Let’s go somewhere else_.”

“O-okay,” Zelos says quickly, then looks around the shop and scowls.

Lloyd hardly sees the staring patrons, though. Her heart roars in her ears, intermingled with Martel’s and Yuan’s words.

“Let’s get lunch,” she suggests. “I think I’m hungrier than I thought I was.”

Zelos laughs. “Sure. There’s a nice Italian place not far from here.”

Lloyd nods, and allows Zelos to lead her out without another word, leaving Martel, Yuan, and the young blonde boy behind.

* * *

“It’s not a bad picture, huh?”

Lloyd looks at it again, frowning. “I think your hair is dipped in spaghetti sauce.”

Zelos chokes on a laugh, pulling her phone back to her own face in order to inspect it. “You know, I think you’re right. You think the accompanying article says something really stupid cheesy, like, _Zelos Wilder so in love she no longer cares about her beautiful, gorgeous, perfect hair_?”

“Somehow I doubt it.”

“You’d be surprised by some of the things they’ve written about me.” Zelos snickers. “Really, though, it is a nice picture. Very genuine. I had no idea anybody saw that.”

The picture in question is from the day before, when they went out to lunch after Lloyd pulled them away from The Great Tree. The picture in question is of the two of them during their meal, both leaned forward as Lloyd offers Zelos a forkful of pasta. Zelos’s mouth is open, and her eyes sparkle even through the lens of the camera.

“Print it out, then,” Lloyd tells her.

“Maybe I will,” she says deviously. “Here, let’s see what they have to say about us. I’m sure they’ve given you everything from a fake name to a guessed age to a cool new job.”

Lloyd’s lips twitch up slightly, and she waits as Zelos opens the article on her phone. She coughs, then begins reading:

“Zelos Wilder was reportedly seen with a younger girl—oh, interesting, I’m surprised they could tell you’re younger than me… Let’s see… They were first seen by Meltokio residents coming from the direction of Meltokio Heights, where Wilder has lived her entire life.” She stops, snorting. “Pretty brazen of them to assume we were coming from my house.”

“Well, we were.”

“ _Still_. Anyway, hmm… They seemed nothing more than companions, but those who later saw them at The Great Tree Bake Shop around two in the afternoon told a different story. Ah, it says here that I comforted you after a falling out with the manager. Wasn’t that sweet of me? ...The Ka-fai-Yggdrasills were not available for comment. Jee, I wonder why.”

Lloyd feels her smile slip away, and she turns away from Zelos, her chest aching.

“Oh, there it is. Others who saw the two together speculated at whether they were friends or something more. Wilder is known for her…” She trails off with a huff. “Ugh, this article is such trash.” She pauses when Lloyd says nothing, then reaches a hand over and touches Lloyd’s arm gently.

Lloyd jumps.

“You all right?”

“I’m fine,” she mutters.

“Is this about whatever Martel said to you yesterday?”

Lloyd looks away from her.

“I won’t pry,” Zelos promises. “It’s not really my place, even if I am curious. But—”

“Your parents are dead, right?” Lloyd interrupts, still keeping her eyes away from Zelos.

She falls silent, and then, meekly: “Yeah.”

“What would you do if someone told you they weren’t really dead?”

Quiet.

Then, uncertain: “Lloyd…?”

“I don’t know what to think,” she says miserably. “I have a good life, with my dad. I know my mom is dead—her grave is behind our house. But we just...assumed my dad was, too. Because he never came looking. Because my mom never mentioned him.”

“Well, maybe it’s a little harsh,” Zelos says slowly, “but I think if he never came for you, he’s as good as dead to you, anyway.”

“But…”

“I’m not good for family advice,” Zelos tells her. “I didn’t exactly have a great example, myself. But you shouldn’t let it worry you so much. Let’s go do something fun. You know, there’s this amusement park just outside of Meltokio. The Lezareno Company runs it. It’s a Monday afternoon. It won’t be too busy.”

“I don’t…”

“It’ll be good for you,” she insists. “Get this parent bullshit off your mind. If you keep frowning so much, you’ll get wrinkles.”

Lloyd snorts. “I will not.”

“You _will_. And I can’t allow your pretty little face to get all wrinkly when you’re still so young.”

Lloyd rolls her eyes, but she can’t keep the small smile that is tugging at her lips off of her face.

“Okay,” she concedes. “I’ll go to the amusement park with you.”

Zelos cheers. “I _knew_ you’d say that! C’mon, let’s go!”

Lloyd allows Zelos to pull her up off the couch, leading her to the back door and calling for Sebastian along the way.

Zelos opens the car door for Lloyd, then steps aside briefly to speak to Sebastian before getting in beside her.

“It’s, like, twenty minutes, give or take,” she explains, closing the door behind her. “But well worth the wait.”

“I think you’re forgetting that I travel almost five hours every day I come to see you.”

“I keep telling you to spend the night.”

“My dad likes to have me at home,” Lloyd says, then frowns.

Her dad…

“No parent talk,” Zelos reminds her. “Even about the one who didn’t abandon you.”

“I don’t think he…” Lloyd sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, okay. No parent talk.”

It quickly becomes their rule for the day. Lloyd learns, in no time at all, that Zelos seems to have a particular talent for avoiding specific topics. It should come as no surprise, considering how long she withheld her identity from Lloyd, but Lloyd cannot help but be a little impressed by the mastery with which she directs the tides of conversation.

They get to the amusement park in about twenty minutes, as Zelos estimated, but they get to bypass the line as Zelos brandishes what looks like some sort of seasonal pass.

“Perks of knowing the CEO,” she says, winking.

“Is that a family pass?” Lloyd wonders.

“Well...yeah, but the whole point is that it works for two.”

Lloyd shrugs, and the topic falls away. After all, _family_ veers dangerously close to _parents_.

The _other_ benefits of Zelos’s pass are that they get to skip lines to rides, too. When Lloyd admits that she has never actually been on a rollercoaster before—there’s nothing like this near Iselia, after all, and even though Sheena has lived in Meltokio for the past three years or so, she has always said amusement parks are severely overrated and even more overpriced—Zelos makes it her mission to drag Lloyd on every rollercoaster in the park. Which turns out to be _a lot_.

By the time they’ve done every one—and a couple of them twice—it is well best five o’clock. Lloyd knows that if she wants to catch the last train to Iselia, they really should leave within the next few hours, but she cannot bring herself to say something about it. If she leaves Meltokio, she will have a two-hour train ride filled with absolutely nothing but time to _think_.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Zelos suggests. “Maybe we can give the paparazzi something to talk about for tomorrow, too.”

“Will they let up after some time?”

Zelos thinks about it for a moment, then says, “Well...maybe. But if you stick around long enough, they’ll go all crazy again.”

“Oh.”

“Does it bother you?”

“A bit,” Lloyd allows. “But I prefer to spend the time with you than some dressed up version of it.”

“You’re worryingly honest,” Zelos says, lips twitching. “Well, if you say so. There’s a restaurant here if you want to go. You’ve hardly eaten anything all day.”

“I haven’t been really hungry.”

“You should try, at least,” Zelos presses. “Even if you don’t finish or we have to split something.”

Lloyd sighs, inclining her head in short agreement. Zelos takes her by the wrist and pulls her west.

The restaurant is easily one of the most busiest areas of the park. It makes sense, given the time, but as soon as Zelos sees the crowd, she drops her grip on Lloyd’s arm and takes a small step away from her, then flicks her hair over her shoulder and smiles brightly at the onlookers.

“Is that Zelos Wilder?” someone whispers.

“What’s she doing here?”

“I heard she’s friends with Regal Bryant.”

The crowd is soon buzzing around them, people asking this and that trying to get her attention.

And then—

“Hey, that’s her! That’s that girl!”

Suddenly, the crowd is not focussed on Zelos, but on Lloyd.

This is not the first time this has happened today, but it is certainly the most... _aggressive_ attention Lloyd has received since coming here.

“What’s your name?”

“Are you Zelos’s lover?”

“How did you meet?”

Lloyd looks to Zelos, who is wearing a rather indecipherable look.

There is a moment where Zelos does nothing, and then she puts on her easy grin again. She comes back to Lloyd’s side and slings an arm around her shoulder.

“Leave her be,” she says loudly. “We’re just trying to get inside. Mind her space, please.”

“Zelos, please tell us who she is!”

“Can’t we get a picture?”

“Why won’t you ever say her _name_?”

They push through the crowd, and Lloyd tries very hard not to let Zelos see the trembling of her fingers.

“For two,” Zelos says to the host, who is very quick to grab them menus and lead them to the back.

As they walk, heads turn, and more people begin to whisper:

“That girl…”

“...all over the headlines today…”

“ _She’s such a womanizer._ ”

“Ignore it,” Zelos breathes at Lloyd’s ear, and she lets out a sharp exhaling, nodding.

The host takes them to what is easily the most secluded area of the restaurant, handing them each a menu.

“Y-your server will be with you soon, Miss Wilder!”

He hurries away, and Zelos lets out a small sigh.

“Sorry,” she says. “That bugs you, doesn’t it?”

“It’s fine,” Lloyd lies. “They’re not all very kind to you, are they?”

“Ah.” Zelos looks over the menu. Lloyd gets the distinct feeling that she’s doing it more to avoid her gaze than to find a meal she will enjoy. “Because they call me a womanizer, right? Well, it’s true. I didn’t get that reputation for nothing. But…” She stops, and here she looks up, eyes lit up with what looks a little like guilt. “It’s not fair of them to say you’re my new plaything or whatever. They don’t even know you.”

Oh.

 _I don’t do it for me, Lloyd_.

Sometimes, Zelos says things. Little things. Says she is selfish, that she’s arrogant, that she cares for very little but her money and the things it does for her.

But that’s not true. It’s not true at all.

Zelos is always thinking of her, almost most especially when Lloyd _isn’t_ thinking of herself.

“Let’s share something,” Lloyd suggests.

“Pizza,” Zelos says immediately.

Lloyd laughs. “Sure, if you want.”

“And just yesterday you were telling me I need to work out more,” Zelos teases.

Their server arrives in short time, and they spend the time waiting for their meal between simple conversation. Simple, easy, because neither of them want to throw out the heavy ones.

Their food arrives, and they split less in half and more in something like thirds—two for Lloyd, who had not realized just how famished she was, and one for Zelos, who insists it’s better this way, “since I don’t work out anymore and all.”

A few times over the course of their meal, Lloyd catches people snapping pictures of them, but Zelos doesn’t seem to mind it, and so she tries to ignore it, too.

It’s really fucking hard, though.

By the time they’re finished, she can say she has effectively been unsettled by it all.

“The bill is mine,” Zelos informs the server, who nods quickly and allows the girl to charge the meal to her credit card.

“Looks good,” the server says. “Ah—have a good evening, Miss Wilder!”

Zelos winks at her. “I hope yours is even better, hunny.”

She blushes, turning away and practically runs away.

Something very unpleasant stirs in Lloyd’s stomach, but she chalks it up to eating too much.

“While we’re here,” Zelos says to here, “there’s one more thing I kinda want to do.”

“What is it?”

She grins. “You’ll see. Come on.”

She stands before Lloyd can get another word in, leaving Lloyd hurrying after her. The crowd by the entrance has dissipated slightly, but people still call out to and reach for them as they pass. Zelos shrugs it off, but Lloyd can’t help looking back a few times, heart tight in her chest.

“The sun is starting to set,” Zelos remarks as they walk.

“I’m going to miss the train.”

Zelos blinks, then comes to a halt. “Shit. I completely forgot. Is there still—?”

Lloyd shakes her head. On the other side of Meltokio as the station is, by the time they got there it would be pointless.

“You keep telling me I ought to stay,” she reminds Zelos. “I’ll just call my dad and let him know. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? We can get you home if you—”

Lloyd presses a finger against her mouth, silencing her. Her eyes widen as they meet Lloyd’s. Her trademark grin has been wiped away completely.

“I’m sure,” Lloyd says. “What did you want to do here?”

As she lowers her hand, Zelos lets out a shaky exhale. “R-right. Let’s go. It’s not far now…”

They take the rest of the walk in silence, the only noise around them that of the other amusement park-goers and the whisperings that seem to follow them everywhere they go, now.

It wasn’t like this before, but while Lloyd always enjoys her time spent with Zelos, she finds it incredibly difficult to really feel she is with Zelos unless Zelos is without one of her many disguises.

Eventually, they stop before what is surely the largest line Lloyd has seen before any ride here so far. Looking up, she sees that the line leads to a platform for the Ferris Wheel. It’s not overly large, she supposes, but it is still much bigger that Lloyd can say she really expected a Ferris Wheel to be.

“Thank God for the pass, huh?” Zelos lets out a whistling breath. “This way, love.”

Lloyd follows her to the express line, and the ticketer hardly even glances at their pass before letting the on. They get on the next car as it comes, sitting very close together on the same bench, despite the two separate ones in the car.

“You know, I’ve never been on one of these with another person.”

Lloyd turns to Zelos, surprised. “Really? Aren’t you, like, a romantic?”

Zelos laughs. “Maybe, but if I am, then I’m a romantic who doesn’t do romance.”

Lloyd’s chest twists painfully.

“I guess you’re right, though,” Zelos says quietly. “It is pretty romantic, isn’t it?”

Lloyd cannot look away from her. Her gaze is on the world rising around them, the reflection of the setting sun turning her eyes from ice to beautiful, sparkling water. In the golden light, her hair is like fire, and the heat that rises in Lloyd’s abdomen at this thought does nothing to dispel it.

“I think it’s one of the most beautiful things,” Zelos continues.

Lloyd’s breath has left her, but she manages a small, “I agree.”

Zelos glances over at her, amused. “Why are you looking at me, then?”

Lloyd splutters, her face searing crimson.

“I know, I know,” Zelos assures her. “I’m infinitely more beautiful than any sunset. But you get to see me, like, _every day_ , so why not enjoy what you can see outside now?”

Lloyd _has_ to look outside, because she thinks if she looks at Zelos one more time, she will explode into the same shade as the girl’s hair.

The Ferris Wheel is placed perfectly, so that as it rises, they are faced with Meltokio, soaked orange with the setting sun. It’s more beautiful than any picture Lloyd has ever seen before, without a doubt. She understands, suddenly, why Zelos wanted so badly to bring her here.

Zelos…

The girl is watching her city, eyes bright. She doesn’t seem to notice as Lloyd’s gaze drifts back to her—or, if she does, she doesn’t seem to _care_. Lloyd cannot help but stare, sometimes. Zelos knows she is beautiful, of course, but Lloyd sometimes wonders if she is as beautiful in her own eyes as she is in Lloyd’s. To Lloyd, she is perfect, something out of a piece of fiction sent to grace Lloyd’s life with her beauty. And it does not only extend to her physical features, either. She is kind, though she will not admit it. A little brash at times, but endearing, nonetheless. An outrageous flirt, but genuine once she gets to know a person.

She is not perfect by the textbook definition, no, but to _Lloyd_ …

“We’re going down,” Zelos says softly.

The sun sinks even lower. Stars have begun to speckle the sky in its place.

“It’s beautiful,” Lloyd says, bringing her eyes up to the heavens, now.

“Do you like stars?”

Lloyd freezes, and then relaxes again.

“...Yeah,” she says. “My… The only thing I remember about my dad is that he liked astronomy. He could point out every constellation in the sky. And he did, I’m sure. I don’t know them all myself, but it was one thing I remember actually bothering to pay attention to in school.”

“Lloyd…”

She looks to Zelos. For the first time since Martel and Yuan spoke to her, she feels that old calm that used to come to her when she thought of her birth parents.

“I want to talk to Martel tomorrow,” she says, voice hardly a whisper. “I should at least hear what she has to say.”

Zelos exhales slowly. “I figured you might say that. I have her number, actually… Let’s invite her over and you can talk at my place. I’ll stay out of your—”

“I want you to be with me.”

“Oh.” She blinks. “I… Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want.”

Lloyd reaches over and grabs her hand, giving it a small squeeze.

They reach the platform again in very short time, and they drop each other’s hands before stepping off and making their way back towards the park entrance.

Sebastian is waiting for them, parking by the entrance with the back door already opened.

They don’t speak the whole back, but Lloyd knows that doesn’t mean nothing is said between them. It’s in the hand Zelos rests on Lloyd’s thigh, in the way Lloyd hooks their pinkies together, in the way Zelos lets Lloyd comb a hand through her hair, using it as a distraction from everything else on her mind.

By the time they get back, it is nearing ten o’clock, and Lloyd is quick to excuse herself to Zelos’s room for a few minutes to call her dad and let him know, yes, she’s fine, she just lost track of time, she has something important to do tomorrow but she’ll be back by the evening and she’ll absolutely make it up to him.

Once she is off the phone, she peeks outside of the room to see Zelos leaned against the wall, waiting for her.

“You didn’t really come prepared for a sleepover, I’m guessing.”

Lloyd blinks. “Ah, no…”

“That’s okay. I’ll see if I can find something that fits you.” Her eyes land on Lloyd’s chest, almost critical, somehow. “Might be easier said than done.”

Lloyd’s cheeks burn at that, and she bites her tongue to keep from saying anything.

Zelos walks past her, entering the room and making her way for the closet. Lloyd has honestly never really looked at it, but as Zelos flings open the door, she sees that it is some kind of walk-in closet, not overly full but certainly not lacking in selection.

“This is huge,” Lloyd remarks, coming to stand by her side as she pulls open a drawer and begins rummaging through.

“I don’t wear ninety percent of it,” Zelos admits. “My manager is pretty strict about what I wear to anything work-related, but she thankfully has no sway over my day-to-day wardrobe.” She hums, considering, then pulls out a large T-shirt. “Try this,” she says, shoving it at Lloyd.

“Right now?”

Zelos straightens up and looks at in exasperation. “Well, yeah. If you want me to turn around, I guess I can.”

Lloyd’s heart hammers against her chest painfully.

“Uh, that’s okay,” she says, but she isn’t sure if it _is_ okay.

Before she can think too hard about it, though, she pulls the shirt she is currently wearing up over her head. It catches at her hair, and she gives it an extra tug. It comes off, and her hair flies wildly despite its shortness.

She is acutely aware of Zelos’s gaze on her as she drops her shirt to the ground.

“You—you—”

“Is something wrong?” Lloyd asks, concerned as Zelos _stares and stammers at her_.

“You’re so...fit,” Zelos manages. “I had no idea.”

“Oh.” Lloyd looks down, self-conscious. “I guess so. I do a lot of work outside.”

This is probably evident from her blatant tan lines, but Zelos doesn’t point those out at all.

“I see.” Zelos isn’t looking at her anymore, but Lloyd couldn’t miss the pink dusting over her cheeks if she tried.

Lloyd puts Zelos’s T-shirt on slowly, trying very hard not to think about what Zelos’s blush is doing to her stomach.

“It’s a little tight,” she says, frowning, “but I think it should be okay.”

Zelos looks at her again, and then looks away just as quickly, face going to lightly pink to brightly red within seconds.

“Zelos?”

“I’m okay,” she says. “That’s just— Never mind. Forget it. I’m fine.”

She doesn't _sound_ fine, Lloyd thinks dubiously, but she chooses not to press the issue.

“I’m going to get changed,” Zelos says hastily. “If you want, I asked Sebastian to bring by some extra blankets and stuff. You can sleep wherever, so—”

“Isn’t your bed big enough for two?”

Zelos has turned away from her, now, her face hidden by clothes upon clothes on hangers in front of her, but Lloyd doesn’t miss the way her shoulders tense.

“Jesus,” she hears her mutter, and then, louder: “That’s true. We can sleep there if you want.”

“O-okay. Are you sure you’re—?”

“I’m fine!” Zelos yelps. “I’ll only be a minute, so just wait for me!”

Lloyd furrows her eyebrows, but does as she’s told, exiting the closet and making her way for the door. As Zelos said, Sebastian has left a basket of blankets and fresh linens before it, and Lloyd carries it into the room before closing the door behind her.

As she does, she sees that Zelos has redressed, and is wearing a set of pink silk pyjamas, the closet door closed behind her.

But while Lloyd looks at her face, she realizes Zelos’s gaze is on her, but is nowhere _near_ her eyes.

“Zelos,” she says, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s kind of late.”

“Y-yeah,” Zelos says, eyes snapping up. “You’re right. Let’s go to bed, then.”

She turns and crawls up onto her bed before Lloyd can say a word for or against it.

She doesn’t _want_ to be unsettled by the fact that Zelos is so transfixed with her body, but an uncomfortable heat swirls in her stomach at the mere thought of it. She _knew_ Zelos wasn’t straight, obviously, and she should’ve known Zelos was attracted to her, but…

She sits on the edge of Zelos’s bed, crossing her legs tightly and willing the feeling to pass.

Suddenly, there is warm breath at her ear.

“You need to rest,” Zelos whispers. “Worrying won’t do you any good at all.”

For a moment, Lloyd isn’t sure what she means, and then she recalls their plan for tomorrow.

“R-right,” she manages. “You’re right. I will.”

“Good,” Zelos says, but the word is stifled by a yawn. She lies down on her side and adds in a murmur, “Shut the light off before you go to sleep, though, please.”

Lloyd’s lips twitch up at this, but she stands and does exactly that before climbing into bed next to Zelos.

She is so very tired, and it only takes a few minutes before her eyes flutter shut and stay that way.

All through the night, she dreams of Zelos in those pink silk pyjamas.

* * *

When Lloyd wakes up, it is the smell of freshly-cooked pancakes. She takes a moment, groggy, to collect herself, then struggles to sit up and looks around.

Zelos is not beside her anymore, but when she calls out the other girl’s name, her head sticks out from the close.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” she teases, though Lloyd has a feeling that she has not been awake for very long, either. “I had breakfast brought up for you, if you want it.”

Lloyd looks to the bedside table, where a tray of pancakes and a glass of orange juice sit in wait.

“Thanks,” she mumbles. “What are you doing?”

Zelos pauses. “I’m looking for something to wear, obviously.”

“Does it normally take you so long?”

Zelos sniffs. “ _Yes_. Don’t understate the importance of fashion, Lloyd.”

Before Lloyd can argue, she disappears into the closet again.

Lloyd sighs, stretching her arms over her head. Zelos’s shirt presses firmly against her chest, but she tries to pay it no mind. She takes a moment to let herself fully wake up, and then turns to the tray of breakfast. Before she can turn to grab it, though, Zelos steps back out into the room.

“You have to eat,” Zelos tells her, coming to her side. She’s dressed in a flowing sundress, very different from her regular style. “Even if it’s just a bit. Let’s call Martel once you’re a little more awake, all right? I had your clothes washed, too. They should just be drying, so eat up and then you can get dressed.”

“Yeah...okay.”

“Don’t worry about it too much,” Zelos advises, grabbing the tray and holding it above her. “It really won’t do you any good. I’ll be there the whole time, so there’s nothing to get freaked out about.” She winks, passing the tray to Lloyd, but she cannot even offer a smile back as she accept it.

Lloyd eats in silence, then passes over half of the unfinished food to Zelos, who sighs in disappointment but takes it and finishes it off, anyway.

“I’ll go grab your clothes,” Zelos tells her, grabbing her hand and giving it a quick squeeze before getting up, taking the tray with her as she exits the room.

Lloyd stares after her, then lets out a long breath when the door closes behind her. Of course, she’s concerned about what Martel will have to say, but another part of her is distracted by everything that happened last night, and the dreams that chased through her sleep. They’re blurry at best, now, but she knows they were Zelos. Zelos, Zelos, _Zelos’s body_ …

Obviously, she knew Zelos was attractive. She’s felt it many times—a stirring in her stomach, in her chest, a painful heat, all what she can only assume is a product of jealousy. After all, Zelos is beautiful. Zelos is secure in herself. Zelos is _confident_ , bordering on narcissistic.

But she isn’t so sure, suddenly, that that is really _true_. It was just a dream, she reminds herself, but she remembers the way Zelos’s skin felt beneath her fingers, silkier than the clothes she wore. The clothes she progressively began to wear less and less of, until Lloyd woke up.

As she thinks back to it, that same painful heat washes over her body.

What is _wrong_ with her?

Zelos comes back before she gets a chance to think about it much more, which is both a blessing and a curse, if only because it is Zelos, Zelos in that adorable sundress, Zelos looking at her with concern, Zelos offering out her clothes to her.

Zelos exits the room again as she gets changed, and then Lloyd comes out to join her, hiding her hands in her pockets so Zelos can’t see them shake.

“Do you want to call her or should I?” Zelos asks, cellphone already in hand.

“I can,” Lloyd mutters. “No point in making you our go-between.”

“Well, I did offer.”

“It’s fine. I’ll do it.”

Zelos nods, scrolling through what looks like thousands of contacts. Finally, she finds the one she is looking for, then passes it off to Lloyd.

Lloyd takes a deep breath, and presses call.

It rings three times against her ear, and just as she is about to lower it in defeat, it picks up and a man says:

“Martel is working. What do you need?”

“Yuan?” Lloyd guesses.

“Yes, speaking.”

“This is Lloyd,” she says quietly, looking down at her feet. “I wondered if we could, er, reopen that discussion.”

“Ah.” Yuan is quiet for a moment. “Yes, of course. I’ll talk to Martel. Was there anywhere specific you wanted to meet.”

“Zelos said you could come here.”

“To her house?”

“Yeah.”

Quiet, again. Considering. “Okay,” he agrees after a moment. “We’ll have to make some arrangements here, but we can make it within the next hour, I’m sure. Is that okay?”

Lloyd exhales shakily. “That’s fine.”

“That’s good. Thanks for getting back to us, by the way. I know it was a little out of nowhere.”

“It’s okay,” but it really isn’t, she thinks.

“See you, then,” he says, and hangs up.

Lloyd lowers the phone slowly, staring forward with unseeing eyes.

“You okay?”

Lloyd’s gaze snaps to Zelos, and the fog clears from her vision.

“I’m okay,” she says. “They’ll be an hour or so.”

“Let’s find something to do until then” Zelos suggests. “Keep your mind off of it until you actually have to think about it.”

Lloyd nods, but her chest sears with the words. It’s not Martel and Yuan she is bothered by, she wants to say. _It’s you._

But she keeps her mouth shut, breathing sharply through her nostrils, and allows Zelos to lead her to a few rooms, giving suggestions of things they can do, all of which Lloyd merely shrugs at, to Zelos’s annoyance.

They wind up spending more time deciding on something to do than actually _doing_ the thing, but Zelos takes the half an hour or so that they have to teach Lloyd the ropes of pool (she’s terrible at it, but Zelos really isn’t a lot better). Eventually, Sebastian calls for them, informing them that they have guests.

“I’ll be right beside you,” Zelos promises. “As long as you want me there.”

“I do,” Lloyd assures her, and she smiles, taking Lloyd by the hand and leading her downstairs.

They meet Martel and Yuan by the door. Martel is holding some kind of book—a photo album, Lloyd thinks, but she isn’t positive.

“I’m glad you called,” she says quickly. “I’ll explain anything you want me to. Just ask, and I’ll do what I can.”

Lloyd nods slowly. “Okay,” she says. “Why don’t you come inside?”

They both do, slipping off their shoes and pushing them to the side before Sebastian gets a chance to. Zelos takes them to the sitting room, and sits down beside Lloyd, while Yuan and Martel sit across from them.

“We’ll take some tea, please, Sebastian,” Zelos calls, receiving an immediate affirmative as the butler hurries towards the kitchen.

“I realize we were a little brash, before,” Martel says, apologetic. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wasn’t sure what else I could do.”

“Sometimes it’s better to do it quickly and painlessly,” Yuan mutters. “Have you thought about it much, Lloyd?”

“A lot,” she admits. “But I’m still not sure… I mean, it could be a coincidence, right?”

“A pretty big one, but it is possible,” Martel allows. “That’s why I bought this.” She holds up the photo album, so Lloyd can see. It has dates embroidered into the cover: _2000-2004_.

The years Lloyd was still with her parents. Her throat feels very dry, suddenly, and she hopes Sebastian is quick with the tea.

Martel sets the album on her lap, looking up to meet Lloyd’s eyes.

“Yuan and I met Kratos when we were about your age. We were all freshmen in university—Yuan and I were in business, and Kratos was taking general studies. He met Anna here, in Meltokio. She was kind of mysterious to us all. Kratos was immediately taken with her, but we were admittedly a little sceptical. She was a barkeep in one of the dingier bars in the lower part of the city. Kratos was never once of a drinker, but he quickly became a regular there.

“We were wary of her at first, but she was always sweet, and she was probably the one person who could make Kratos _really_ laugh. She was so funny, and really good with kids. They didn’t get married—they couldn’t yet, because Anna was a foreign worker, and she was a little concerned about her worker’s visa. It would’ve been a process to get her citizenship, she explained, but she didn’t want to rely on Kratos for it. Of course, once she got pregnant, it became a little more pressing. They were engaged in the late fall and married in the early winter, and Anna began the grueling process to become a citizen. Around the end of May, they had a daughter who they named Lloyd—it wasn’t really a girl’s name, we all told them, but they didn’t care. They just thought it was a nice name.”

“They were the happiest family I think I’ve ever seen,” Yuan muses. “Kratos stopped studying to focus on raising his daughter. They were really close; though she was certainly close to her mother, we all said she was truly her father’s daughter. As Lloyd began to grow, her hair turned lighter, too, more like Kratos’s than like Anna’s dark brown.”

“Kratos would’ve given the world for his girls,” Martel says sadly. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out like that.”

“Anna died in a car accident,” Yuan says quietly. “She was with her daughter. None of us knew of the girl had survived, and Anna’s body was never recovered. But they found her ID after some time, and a record of the child’s name. No husband could be found anywhere. Nobody knew who Anna Irving really was, it seemed like. She still wasn’t a citizen yet. Her records were accessible, but lacking. She had never taken Kratos’s last name. We don’t know _why_ —bad luck, more than anything. They assumed she was a single mother, maybe, or a widow. It was hard to keep up with all the news, and Kratos grew very closed off. He was determined to find his daughter, but she had never been mentioned. None of us knew if she was still alive. We told him he was just hurting himself by looking, and eventually...he gave up. The crash was near Sybak. We had no idea that you could’ve ended up in Iselia, of all places.”

Lloyd’s fingernails dig deeply into her skin.

“There are so many…” She shakes her head, hating the scratchiness of her voice. “So many _holes_.”

“I know,” Martel whispers. “We don’t understand it all, either. Sometimes, we wonder if we really knew who Anna actually was.”

“It’s entirely possible she wasn’t here legally,” Yuan adds. “We’ve no way of knowing. They got married so fast, too. It’s hard to say how legitimate any of that was. But…” He pauses, eyes drifting down to the photo album. “We have no doubts she loved Kratos and Lloyd, probably more than anything else in the world.”

Lloyd’s shoulders hurt from how tensely she holds them, but she feels a gentle hand at her arm, and, recognizing the touch as Zelos’s, feels herself relax a bit.

“Are those pictures?” she finally asks.

“That’s right,” Martel says. “I made this for Kratos and Anna’s third anniversary.”

“Can I...see?”

Martel exchanges a short look with Yuan, then nods and stands up, leaving her husband behind as she comes to sit on Lloyd’s free side, leaving a more-than-respectable distance between them.

She hands the album to Lloyd, who takes it with shaking hands.

“Back in those days, Yuan wasn’t such a bad photographer,” she says, voice a little teasing. “We had a pretty good thing going on for a while, where Yuan would take pictures and I’d put them together nicely. Sometimes I wonder if we should’ve gone into photography, rather than baking.”

Lloyd hardly hears her, flipping to the first page of the album. She feels Zelos looking over her shoulder, much more a comfort than a bother.

The first photos are of a man and woman, presumably Kratos and Anna. There’s one of their wedding, Lloyd guesses, where Anna is dressed in a sleek, white dress. It is outside, clearly, if the fat snowflakes that drift around them are anything to go by. They’re at the altar, kissing each other with large smiles on their faces. There are two more pictures on this page, both of them of the same day, if they outfits are anything to go by. In one, they are dancing. In the other, Kratos offers a piece of cake on a fork out to Anna.

“Their wedding was small,” Martel explains. “Only a few friends, really. Anna’s family was far away, and Kratos hasn’t been in contact with his since he was about sixteen.”

Lloyd flips the page. This one shows them near a fountain Lloyd recognizes as being one of the central features of upper Meltokio, a very popular destination for residents and tourists alike. Anna is showing off an impressive baby bump, and Kratos has an arm around her shoulder. They’re both smiling widely, as if there is no place they would rather be.

“Anna had a few pregnancy complications,” Martel explains. “But aside from a late birth, their daughter was healthy as ever. She was like their light. They were so happy, even when parenthood started to exhaust them.”

The next page shows the day their daughter was born, Anna and Kratos in the hospital with a rather large bundle.

“She was pretty heavy,” Martel says. “About seven pounds. Anna and Kratos were just happy to see her alive and so healthy.”

There is another picture, of Martel, Yuan, and Kratos. In this picture, Martel is holding the baby, while the boys each have a hand around her waist. Anna must’ve taken the picture, Lloyd thinks.

“They called us Auntie Martel and Uncle Yuan,” she says sadly. “We were around just about every single day. We all loved and spoiled her—even Yuan, though he’d probably deny it, now.”

The next pages are filled with different pictures of Lloyd growing up. Pictures of Anna holding her, playing games with her, feeding her; of Kratos cradling her in his arms or, as she got bigger, hoisting her up on his shoulders. Martel and Yuan are in a lot of them, too, Martel a jubilant presence around Lloyd and Yuan a much more wary one.

“This is surreal,” she finally says, closing the album firmly. “This is…”

“Kratos is still alive,” Martel whispers. “He would want to meet you, if you were willing to meet him.”

Lloyd looks away from her, throat tight. There is no denying it. These pictures are of her. But…

“He left me,” she manages. “He stopped looking for me.”

Martel visibly flinches. “That wasn’t his fault, Lloyd.”

Zelos reaches down and grabs Lloyd’s hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. Lloyd inhales sharply, her eyes stinging painfully.

“You don’t have to decide right now,” Martel tries again, sounding a little desperate, now. “We’ll be around, and we won’t say anything to Kratos until you want to speak to him, if you ever do.”

Lloyd says nothing. She doesn’t think she could, even if she wanted to.

“You want to meet him, don’t you?” Zelos squeezes her hand. “You’re just trying to process it all, still.”

Lloyd opens her mouth, then closes it again, lowering her head and screwing her eyes shut.

“Martel,” Yuan speaks up. “Mithos is asking us to come back.”

Martel hesitates a moment, then nods and turns to Lloyd again.

“Keep the album,” she says. “Call again once you’ve had some more time to think about it. But...Kratos is a good man. He loves you deeply, even now. He...would be happy to see you grown up, happy and healthy as you are.”

Lloyd cannot even look at her. She is holding on to Zelos’s hand very tightly, _too_ tightly, perhaps, but the girl says nothing about it.

Martel stands with a sigh, and Yuan joins her shortly.

“Thank you,” she says. “I’m sorry about everything.”

She and Yuan turn without another word, making their way to the door.

Lloyd’s vision is blurred, and her chest heaves uncomfortably. Before she can stop them, two small tears roll down her cheeks, then two more, and then even more, too many to count. In short time, she is crying in earnest, still holding Zelos’s hand like a lifeline, while Zelos uses her free hand to stroke Lloyd’s hair, saying nothing.

Eventually, her breathing slows and the tears stop falling. Still, though, she cannot look up. A few tears stain the cover of the photo album on her lap.

“You should probably get home soon, huh?”

Lloyd’s chest rises achingly.

“There’s something else I want to do while I’m here,” she mutters. “Something I have to talk to Sheena about.”

“Oh.” Zelos thinks about it for a moment, but before she even says anything, she freezes up. Lloyd hears why shortly after; her phone, resting on the table beside a tray of tea Lloyd cannot for the life of her remember Sebastian bringing, has begun to vibrate.

Zelos leans forward, grabbing it to check the caller ID, then scowls and mutes the call, not actually ending it.

“Who is it?” Lloyd asks, peering over her shoulder, but she is quicker than Lloyd, pulling it away before she can see anything more than a couple letters that do not go together on their own.

“It’s nothing,” Zelos says. “Let’s worry about you first… If you’re still gonna be around, I don’t know if I really feel that great about leaving you on your own. I had half a mind to take the train back with you, honestly.”

Lloyd laughs hollowly. “I’m fine, honestly, but sure… You haven’t really met Sheena, have you?”

“She’s the one from the bar, right?”

“Yeah… She’s a student at the university here. We met during a student transfer kind of thing in high school. She’s from Mizuho, originally.”

“I see.” Zelos hums in thought. “I can take you to here, then. Or she could come here.”

“N-no, just take me there.”

Zelos eyes her, uncertain. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“It’s okay,” Lloyd promises. “Sheena can take me back. Someday, though, you’ll have to meet all my friends.”

“This is you trying to get me to Iselia again, isn’t?” She grins, but Lloyd feels it does not really reach her eyes.

“Maybe,” Lloyd allows. “Here, let me message Sheena. See if she’s home. Are you sure you don’t want to return that call?”

“It’s okay, hunny.” Zelos sighs dramatically. “It’s not easy being so popular, but I’ll get back to her eventually… Probably just something about work. They always wait for me, though.”

Lloyd frowns, but chooses not to push it, instead fishing for her own phone, dug into her pocket, and shooting a quick _Are you home?_ to Sheena.

“You’re sure your okay?” Zelos asks her as she sets her phone down on top of the photo album. “You know, I know I’m not the _best_ for comfort, but if you ever need anything, I’d never ignore a call from you.”

Warmth swims in Lloyd’s chest.

“I know,” she says. “Thanks.”

Her phone buzzes with a response:

_I am. Are you in Meltokio?_

_Yeah_ , she types back. _Can I come over?_

_Sure. Is something wrong?_

She does not know how to respond, so she doesn’t.

“Let’s go,” she says to Zelos, picking up the photo album and getting to her feet.

“You’re _sure_ you’re okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Zelos hesitates a moment, then nods and stands with her. They meet Sebastian out the back, and Lloyd gives the man directions from the back of the car. They get to Sheena’s apartment complex in short time. Before Lloyd can get out, though, Zelos grabs her by the wrist and pulls her back.

“You—” She stops, eyebrows knitted. “Stay safe, okay? Don’t stress too much. Even if it’s not me...at least stay close to someone, okay?”

Lloyd’s shoulders fall slightly, and she offers Zelos a smile.

“I will,” she says. “Promise.”

“Good.” Zelos leans forward and, before Lloyd can even comprehend what she is doing, presses her lips against Lloyd’s forehead. When she pulls away, she adds, “Call me when you get back home, okay, hunny?”

Lloyd’s cheeks hurt with red. “Y-yeah, I will.”

She takes a moment, willing her breaths to return, and then opens up the door and steps outside.

Since yesterday, it has cooled significantly. She hasn’t checked the forecast, but it looks like rain will be coming in soon.

The car does not drive away until Sheena buzzes Lloyd up and she is safely inside the complex. Though Zelos doesn’t like to admit it, Lloyd knows she worries a lot.

Her chest twists a bit at this thought, and she reminds herself that that’s what she’s here for, that talking to Sheena may put her mind at ease, and stop her body from reacting so _painfully_ to everything Zelos says and does.

She knocks on Sheena’s door, photo album tucked carefully under her arm. She knows Sheena will ask about it, but she isn’t sure she’s ready to talk to anybody else about that just yet. The first person she’ll need to tell is her dad, after all…

Sheena opens the door before she can follow that train of thought, thankfully.

“Hey, Lloyd. What’s up?”

“Ah, I just wondered if we could talk about something. Can I come in?”

“Yeah, of course.” She stops, eyeing the album briefly. “What’s that?”

“It’s nothing,” Lloyd says quickly. “It’s not what I want to talk about. I just have to get it home, is all…”

Sheena frowns, but doesn’t push it, instead stepping aside without a word and allowing Lloyd to enter the apartment.

They sit at the kitchen table, and Lloyd is eerily reminded of the morning after her first encounter with Zelos. This is different, though, she reminds herself, and she sets the photo album on the floor by her seat, in an attempt to keep Sheena from snooping.

“What’s the matter?” Sheena asks. “You seem a bit...preoccupied.”

Lloyd sighs heavily, looking away from her. “I feel like there’s something—wrong. With my friendship with Zelos.”

“Oh?” Sheena leans back, scrutinizing her. “What do you mean by that?”

Lloyd’s cheeks redden despite herself. “W-well, I just mean—she says stuff sometimes, that make my chest hurt, like my heart is beating really fast, and it’s like...everything she does _embarrasses_ me, but I don’t know why, because it’s not like it’s anything I’m not used to by now…” She coughs. “I had a—a—” She stops, face too red to continue.

“A…?” Sheena prompts.

“A dream,” Lloyd manages, trying not to cringe visibly. “About her.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming about your friends,” Sheena points out. “It just means you’re thinking about them.”

“N-no, it wasn’t a…” She bites her tongue, her stomach growing hot at the memory of it.

“What do you—?” Sheena cuts herself off, then lets out a short breath. “ _Oh._ Do you mean, like, a _sexual_ dream?”

Lloyd groans, putting her elbows on the table and dropping her head in her hands. “D-don’t say it like _that_.”

Sheena laughs lightly. “That’s what you mean, though, right?”

“I—I guess, yeah.”

“Well...maybe it’s just because you know when you first met that she wanted to have sex with you.” Sheena shrugs. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. Sometimes dreams are kinda weird like that.”

“I—I honestly don’t think so…” Lloyd looks up at her, now, hoping, praying, that her face is not as red as it seems. “It’s like—I thought she made me jealous, but I...I’m not sure. Yesterday, she flirted with some girl, and it _bugged_ me, like…”

“You’d rather she was flirting with _you_?”

“Maybe.”

Sheena considers her, lips twisted. “Well, maybe I was wrong about you, then. Are you attracted to her?”

Lloyd stares at her.

“...Lloyd?”

“I...I don’t know.” She swallows thickly. “I don’t even know what attraction is supposed to feel like.”

“Well, I guess it probably varies from person to person. But it’s like, you know—arousal, a desire to be close, a fixation on physique…”

“Arousal,” Lloyd repeats.

“Yeah, like…” Sheena pauses, thinking. “You know, like, heat, from your stomach to...lower, I guess.”

Lloyd blinks.

“Oh my God,” she says, then drops her head down the table and lets out a long, whining exhale. “Sheena,” she continues, voice muffled by the table, “I think I’m attracted to Zelos.”

“Okay,” Sheena says slowly. “But...you should be careful, Lloyd. Don’t go into anything unless you’re really sure.”

“Oh my God,” she says again, hardly hearing Sheena at all.

“...Are you okay?”

“Oh my _God_.”

“I’m guessing that’s a no?”

Her head shoots up, and she leans in closer to Sheena. “I’m so _stupid_ ,” she moans. “I thought—it must be jealousy, because she’s so _pretty_ , she’s _so pretty_ , like she’s not even _real_ , and she flusters me without even trying, and her hair is so soft and beautiful, and her _skin_ —it’s so silky and clear, and I love the way her hand feels in mine and— _oh my God_ —”

Sheena looks at her, amused. “I mean, it’s not like you were going to let yourself just be attracted to her. Really. Think about it a bit. Sexuality isn’t...easy, I guess. You’ve grown up in a small, pretty conservative village, spent your whole life thinking you were straight—you have to give it some time, think it over a bit. Even if you do like Zelos like that, it isn’t fair to either of you to make any sort of move on her until you’re absolutely positive.”

“I think she’s been making moves on me since I met her,” Lloyd says miserably.

“Maybe,” Sheena agrees. “I think maybe you should give it a couple more weeks. You might just be confused by that dream or something. I mean, it’s not like I don’t believe you or anything. I just worry.”

“I know.” Lloyd stops, inhaling deeply. “This is all so _confusing._ I don’t get it. I mean—I know girls are pretty, and boys suck, and I’ve _always_ known that, but—”

“Er, Lloyd,” Sheena says, coughing. “I mean, it’s _true_ that boys are kinda trash, but, well, most straight girls don’t really...think in those terms.”

Lloyd almost chokes on her own saliva. “W-what?”

“Well, I mean—that’s the whole point of being straight. Being attracted to the opposite gender and not the _same_ one. You know, though, now that I think about it, I’m not really that surprised… You’ve never been very interested in boys, huh? But I think I can recall a few times where you were a little _too_ interesting in girls.”

“Sheena.”

“What is it?”

Lloyd sighs. “I think I’m going crazy.”

“Huh?” Sheena blinks in alarm. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.” She rubs the bridge of her nose, hard. “It doesn’t matter… I have to get home, anyway. Zelos will get mad at me if I go to the station alone, so would you mind walking with me?”

Sheena snickers. “She’s pretty protective of you, huh? It’s weird. She has such a reputation as some sort of lady-killer, but everything you say about her makes her sound so caring.”

“It’s because we’re friends,” Lloyd mutters. “Maybe it would be different if she’d gotten me into bed that night.”

“Thought about that at all, have you?”

Lloyd’s scarlet cheeks are answer enough for Sheena, who laughs loudly.

“Yeah, I was _definitely_ wrong about you. You know, there are some LGBT safe spaces around Meltokio, bars and stuff. We could go together, sometime, if you ever want to.”

Lloyd grabs the photo album off the floor, lips twitching up a bit. “Maybe,” she says, “but I think I ought to figure things out with Zelos before I raise her suspicions about me too much.”

“She thinks you’re straight, right?”

Lloyd nods. “When I said I wasn’t gay, she told me she figured that was the case. But I…” She stops, flushing. “I mean, she…”

Sheena waits patiently, watching from across the table.

“I think she’s attracted to me, if nothing else,” Lloyd finishes lamely. “She called me _fit_ last night.”

“Last night?”

Lloyd freezes.

“Did you—?”

“N-no!” Lloyd yelps. “I just—missed the last train, so I stayed for the night. She—she could hardly look at me past a certain point, anyway.”

Even to her own ears, the words sound a little better.

“Well, it can’t be easy,” Sheena says. “Being attracted to someone you think is straight, I mean.”

“Y-yeah. Anyway, let’s get going. My dad is probably waiting for me.”

Sheena nods, standing up and leading the way to the door. She lets Lloyd out first, then locks the door behind them and squeezes ahead of Lloyd again to lead as she goes down the stairs.

“It’s looking a little cold, huh?” Sheena says as they exit the building. “Might get a storm, the weather said.”

“Well, as long as it doesn’t drift over to me,” Lloyd jokes. “I’ll have work to make up for at home, I’m sure.”

“That’s what happens when you stay out past your bedtime,” Sheena teases. “Anyway, we should be able to make the five o’clock if we’re quick. Let’s get going.”

Lloyd agrees, and they pick up their pace towards the train station. It is almost like last time, except it isn’t, really. As they walk, people’s heads turn. It is nowhere near the same as when she goes somewhere with Zelos, but she can hear the whispers following them, anyway:

“That girl…”

“...Zelos’s mistress, right?”

“Maybe they’re serious, though…”

“No way. She’s such a womanizer.”

“No tact,” Sheena mutters. “I think I get why Zelos didn’t want you to go out on your own.”

“They’re worse with her,” Lloyd assures her. “Only the real gossips seem to recognize me at all.”

“I’m surprised they’re already like this, though. They don’t even know who you are, aside from what you look like.”

Lloyd shrugs. “It’s uncomfortable, but I guess I’ll get used to it. I probably don’t have much of a choice, now.”

Thankfully, they make it to train station with only a couple bypassers stopping them, shot down quickly by an irritated Sheena, and thankfully aren’t followed—at least _noticeably_ followed—by anybody.

Just as Sheena predicted, Lloyd is able to just catch the five o’clock train, and she waves good-bye to Sheena with a promise that she’ll be back soon—probably later this week, really.

The train is busier than usual this evening, but Lloyd pays it no mind. Thoughtlessly, she flips through the photo album, focussing on the pictures with Kratos.

They do look similar, she thinks. They have a similar build, same wild hair—Lloyd’s is more brown, but not quite as dark as Anna’s is—and the same brown eyes…

She sighs, closing the book again and staring out the window. It will do her no good to fret about it, she thinks. When she gets home, she will have to talk to her dad, but for now…

For now, she can’t let it bother her.

* * *

There are few things she can imagine that are harder than telling her dad, the man who raised her, the only parent whose pride in her was really, truly important, that her birth father is still alive, and he lives only about three hours away from them.

Understandably, Dirk needs some time to process it, but Lloyd gives him the photo album and says, “Even if he’s alive and wants to be part of my life, you’re always still going to be my dad, you know.”

“I know,” Dirk says quietly, and they spend the rest of the evening flipping through the photos, both of them getting things they always felt they needed but never knew _how_ to get out of them.

For Dirk, it is the first three years of Lloyd’s life.

For Lloyd, it is her birth parents, and Uncle Yuan and Auntie Martel.

Part of her wants to be mad at Martel over all of this, but she knows it makes no sense. The woman did what she felt was best, and, really, Lloyd’s glad that she did. But it still sits wrong in her mind and her chest, and she doesn’t know how she is supposed to make any of this _better_.

Eventually, they come to the end of the album, and Dirk says, “Ye should meet him, Lloyd. Maybe someday you’ll be family again.”

“But…”

“I’ll always be here,” Dirk promises. “I’m still yer family, too.”

Lloyd nods slowly. “I know,” she says. “I’m glad you raised me.”

He smiles at her. “I’m glad, too.”

They share a cup of hot chocolate together after that, reminiscing of Lloyd’s childhood together as evening seeps into night, and eventually they both grow too tired to continue.

When Lloyd climbs into bed, though, her mind is immediately on her earlier conversation with Sheena. As she thinks it over again, her chest floods with guilt as she remembers she told Zelos she would call once she was home, but it entirely slipped away from her.

She gets out of bed, scrabbling for her phone. Indeed, she has missed a call and has a few unanswered texts from the girl.

It’s very near midnight, but Lloyd presses call, anyway.

It rings twice, and then there is a click as Zelos picks up.

“Lloyd?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t—”

“It’s okay,” Zelos says quickly. “I, um, I just hope—” Her voice is very high, Lloyd realizes. Anxious, maybe.

“I’m okay,” Lloyd promises. “I was talking to my dad for a long time. Don’t worry about me.”

“I feel like I’m always worrying about you,” Zelos mutters.

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing. Ah, it’s pretty late, though, so we shouldn’t talk too long. Beautiful girls need their beauty sleep, after all.”

“I’m more than aware that you don’t get nearly enough sleep, you know,” Lloyd retorts.

Zelos only laughs, though. “Well, duh. I was talking about _you_.”

Lloyd almost drops her phone.

“I get if you want to spend some time with your dad and stuff, figure everything out, but…” Zelos trails off with a sigh. “Don’t forget to stop by, okay? Even if it’s a call, I like spending the time with you.”

Lloyd cannot help the gentle smile that tugs at her lips from this. “I’ll be back soon,” she promises. “I think I’ll see if Martel can help me meet Kratos. Maybe later this week.”

“I’m not surprised you said that,” Zelos murmurs. “But I hope you’re careful. Just because he’s your father doesn’t mean he deserves your love.”

“I know.”

“Good. O-okay, then, well, let me know the next time you’re in Meltokio. I’ll be around. Probably.”

“Probably?”

She sighs. “As long as my manager will stop—oh, never mind. It doesn’t matter. I’ll be around, and if I’m _not_ , you can always call, and I’ll get it as soon as I can. Oh, there’s one more thing I wanted to ask you.”

She is speaking so fast that it takes Lloyd a moment to disconnect the things she has said from each other.

“Uh, sure. What is it?”

“Well, you know, high society and all… The Bryants have this summer banquet thing every year. It’s a big social event, basically, and it’s boring as hell, but I usually have to go, unless I get lucky enough to be shooting or something during that time. That’s not the case this year, obviously, but the invitation has a plus-one, so I was…”

“Oh.” Lloyd’s chest aches a bit. “W-well, I don’t know. I don’t think I’m really made for high society.”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Zelos says, almost pleading, now. “And we’d only have to stay long enough for people to know we were there at all, but—”

“Are you sure we should really be encouraging rumours like that?”

“I…” She stops. “That’s true, but…”

“But what?”

Zelos is quiet for a moment, and then Lloyd hears her let out a long sigh on the other side of the phone.

“But I don’t care what they say,” she says firmly. “The only person whose approval I want out of any of this is yours.”

Lloyd swallows, heart beating fast. “So, you’re not asking me to go because you need someone to go with.”

“I’m asking you to go because I don’t want to go with anybody else. O-oh, but you don’t have to decide now. There’s still a few weeks until then, and it’s not like I’ve never gone alone before. And if you decide you want to, don’t worry about clothes or anything; I’ll have something for you. A-anyway, I’ll let you get to bed, now. Hope you have a good day tomorrow, hunny.”

Before Lloyd can even say good night back, Zelos hangs up.

She sighs, sitting down heavily on her bed. Once again, her conversation with Sheena echoes through her head. She shouldn’t be so _focussed_ on it, she thinks, not when she knows she is so close to meeting her birth father, the man she thought was dead for fifteen years, but…

Zelos seems to exist in every corner of her mind; her voice, her laugh, her flowing hair and her smile and her stupid, smooth, silky skin. When she is not with Zelos, she finds that she desperately wishes she _could_ be, in a way she has never really desired with another person. Obviously, they’re close—best friends, maybe—but…

She shudders, the memory of her dream resurfacing again.

They could be closer, she thinks as she gets back into bed.

It keeps her up for hours, and she wakes early in the morning with the faint ghosts of a dream much like the one she had the night before chasing through her mind.

It’s no good, she thinks; it is impossible to escape from this, now that she’s understanding what it all means.

She decides getting back to sleep now would be quite impossible, and takes a cold shower in an attempt to wash away the heat swirling through her body.

Other than making her teeth chatter, though, it does very little for her.

She tidies her room, then makes breakfast for her and her dad, then cleans the kitchen, too.

But in the back of her mind, Zelos is still firmly stuck, Lloyd’s hands in her hair as she smiles, a breathless, sexy look, for Lloyd and Lloyd only.

Lloyd drops a plate, and the noise startles the thought away.

“All right, Lloyd?” her dad asks from the table, where he is sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Fine,” she mutters, leaning down to pick the plate up and wipe it clean again before putting it away.

As the day draws nearer to noon, she tells her dad she’s going to go into the village and pick some things up. He hands her some cash, tells her to bring back something to make for dinner, and then heads out to get some work done.

She stops by Genis’s house on the way, wondering if the boy is around, but when she knocks on the door, it is Raine that answers.

“Genis isn’t here,” she says. “He said something about going to Colette’s.”

Lloyd nods quickly, going to turn around, but Raine stops her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you all right, Lloyd?” she asks, concern etched in her tone. “You look a little pale.”

“I’m fine!” She tries—and fails, surely—for a smile. “Th-thanks, though, Professor. I’ll see you around!”

She shakes Raine’s hand away hastens down the steps from the Sage home, heart beating way too fast to be healthy.

Raine does not call after her, though Lloyd is certain she probably _wants_ to. Raine has always been kind to her, treating her like the little sister she never had—a little insufferable sometimes, not that smart, but still someone she wants to keep safe—but sometimes her specific brand of care can be a little suffocating.

She makes her way to Colette’s house, instead, and when she knocks here Frank informs her that Colette and Genis are upstairs, then allows her to go up without a fuss. She thanks him before rushing up the stairs to knock on Colette’s door.

Colette opens it up and beams when she sees her.

“Lloyd! Hey, we were just having some lunch, come inside!”

Colette ushers her inside, and she sees Genis on the floor with a sandwich and a cup of tea.

“Hey, Lloyd,” he says, glancing back at her. “Been a while.”

“I know,” she says apologetically. “The craziest thing happened.”

“Huh?” Colette tilts her head slightly. “What is it?”

Lloyd looks back at the door, making sure it is locked, then sits down on the floor between them.

“I found out my birth father is alive.”

Genis almost drops his cup.

“Wow!” Colette grins. “That’s so cool, Lloyd! Have you met him?”

She shakes her head. “I’m not sure what to do,” she admits. “Zelos seems to think I shouldn’t meet him, but my dad says he doesn’t mind if I want to.”

“Well, it’s not really Zelos’s decision,” Genis points out, setting his drink down carefully. “You shouldn’t listen to her. You know what’s best for you.”

“Zelos has good intentions,” Lloyd protests. “She’s just worried about me.”

“I think that’s sweet!” Colette leans forward slightly, eyes as earnest as ever. “She really seems to care about you.”

“Yeah.” Lloyd tries very hard not to think about that smile from her dream. “You know, I think—” Her words fall away, cut off by a sneeze.

“Bless you,” Colette says, then procures a tissue from—behind her, maybe? Either way, Lloyd accepts it gratefully, blowing her nose.

“Are you getting sick?” Genis asks suspiciously.

“Definitely not,” Lloyd denies. “Honestly, when was the last time I really got sick?”

He hums, but doesn’t look overly convinced.

“Well, you should make sure you rest, anyway,” Colette says.

“Yeah,” Genis agrees. “You’re probably more stressed about all of this than you think you are.”

Lloyd sighs, folding the tissue up and setting it on her lap.

“Maybe,” she allows. “I haven’t been sleeping so great, I guess, but I don’t think it’s related.”

“Have some tea,” Colette suggests. “It’ll help.”

Lloyd laughs, but agrees, and Colette runs out of the room to hunt down a third cup. As she leaves, Genis turns to Lloyd with furrowed eyebrows.

“Is something _else_ wrong?” he asks. “You can tell us anything, you know.”

“I know,” Lloyd assures him. “It’s just kind of complicated, I guess.”

“Is it about Zelos?”

Lloyd smiles wryly, but doesn’t get a chance to formulate a response before Colette returns, stumbling on her way inside and fumbling with the cup before tightening her grip on it and straightening up, giggling.

“That was close,” she says, closing the door again. “Here, Lloyd!”

She delivers the cup, and then sits back down and fills it up for Lloyd. She accept its warmth gladly, taking a long sip of it. It slides down her throat a little painfully, and she vaguely wonders when the last time she even had a glass of water was.

“So, what else was it that’s bothering you?” Genis prompts.

“Oh, no,” Colette says. “Is something wrong, Lloyd? You know, now that Genis mentions it, you do seem a little distracted.”

Lloyd frowns down at her tea. “You guys have known me _way_ too long,” she complains.

Colette laughs lightly. “That’s a good thing, though! What's the matter, then?”

“It’s about Zelos,” Genis tells her.

“Oh, really? Did something happen between you guys?”

Lloyd knows she doesn’t mean it the way she hears it, but her cheeks ignite with embarrassment, anyway.

“It—it’s complicated,” she says again.

“But something did happen?”

“N-not really.” She finishes off her tea in one go, then sets the cup down in front of her and tucks her knees up to her chest. “I just—I don’t know. It’s weird. She’s so…”

They both watch her expectantly, neither of them bothering to help her out as she flounders for just one word to describe Zelos.

“So, um, so…” She looks up at the ceiling, frustrated. “So _Zelos_.”

“Okay,” Genis says slowly. “I’m sure that made sense to you, but I don’t think Colette and I are really getting it.”

“No, no!” Colette cries. “I think I understand!”

Lloyd and Genis both stare at her.

“She’s indescribable!” Colette declares. “That’s what’s bugging you!”

“Huh?”

“No,” Genis says. “That doesn’t really make sense, Colette.”

Colette blinks. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not that,” Lloyd tells her gently. “More like our, er, relationship to each other is indescribable.”

They both look at her blankly.

“It’s complicated,” she says, for what feels like the millionth time.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Genis says. “Either you’re friends or you’re not, right?”

“Well, we’re definitely friends. I just…” She sighs, then straightens a bit as another sneeze passes through her. Scowling, she adds, “It’s not like we’re friends the same way as I am with you guys, or with Sheena.”

“Sure,” Genis says, shrugging. “You’ve known us for years. You’ve only known her for—what? A month and a half?”

Lloyd pauses, thinking. He’s right, but a part of her feels like Zelos has always been a part of her life.

“It’s not the same,” she insists.

“Oh!” Colette snaps her fingers together, face bright. “I get it! It’s because she’s famous, isn’t it?”

“N-no, it’s not that…”

Colette frowns.

“Because you met the way you did?” Genis guesses.

“No—well, maybe a bit, but…” Lloyd shakes her head. “It’s not her. It’s me.”

They’re both scrutinizing her, now.

Finally, Genis sighs and says, “I have no clue. You’re being too vague.”

But Colette is still watching her, thinking hard.

“Oh,” she says, and this time her voice is very quiet. “I get it. Are you in love with her, Lloyd?”

Lloyd chokes on her own saliva.

“Huh?” Genis sounds completely floored by this diagnosis. “What makes you think that, Colette?”

“I—I wouldn’t call it love,” Lloyd rasps.

“That’s so cute,” Colette coos. “Are you going to ask her out?”

“N-no!” Lloyd cries, appalled. “I—I _can’t_.”

Colette pouts. “Why not?”

“That’s true,” Genis says. “You already know she’s gay. Is it because of the media?”

“But your guys’ pictures together are so adorable!” Colette gushes. “I’m sure everyone would be happy if you got together!”

“Th-that’s not what I mean.” Lloyd pauses, feeling her nose twitch again. Thankfully, it seems to pass, and she continues: “I just don’t yet. I only just realized it, and Sheena said I should think about it a bit more, to be sure, but I feel like I don’t think about anything else at all.”

“Well, I’m not surprised Sheena would say that to you,” Genis remarks. “I don’t think she’s ever wanted to see you in a relationship.”

“Huh?”

“Hmm, yeah,” Colette agrees. “She’s seemed against the idea of it for a long time, but you were never interested, so…”

“Oh. I guess that’s true. She must just be worried about me.”

“I think you should go for it!” Colette encourages. “She clearly cares for you, so what’s the worst that could happen?”

Lloyd opens her mouth to respond, but is interrupted by her delayed sneeze.

“Jeez, you should really go try to sleep that off,” Genis says. “If you don’t take care of it soon, you really will get sick.”

“I’m not sick,” Lloyd grumbles. “But you might be right. I need to get some stuff for supper, too, so…”

“We’ll be around tomorrow!” Colette says brightly. “Don’t worry that you can’t stick around for long. It’s more important that you get some rest.”

“Maybe,” Lloyd agrees. “Thanks for the tea, at least.”

“No problem!” Colette beams. “I hope your sneeze goes away. Say hi to Noishe for me! Oh, and your dad, of course.”

Lloyd and Genis snicker at this, but Genis is quick to share the sentiment and add, “And get some sleep before you infect us all with that cold.”

“I’m not sick!”

“I wouldn’t say that until you’ve gotten a chance to sleep it off a bit,” Genis tells her, laughing. “Or else you might regret.”

“You’re jinxing me,” Lloyd complains, standing up.

“You’re already sick!”

“I am _not_.”

“You need rest, either way,” Colette throws in. “You have a lot of your mind!”

“That’s true enough,” Lloyd concedes. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then!”

“Sure!” Colette chirps. “Let’s all try to catch up sometime soon, too! It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sheena.”

Lloyd nods. “I’ll give her a call later and see if she can come by soon. See you guys!”

They wave, and Lloyd exits Colette room. She wishes a good day to Frank and Phaidra, too, and then leaves the house to get her shopping done. She finishes quickly, quite aware of how her nose is beginning to run, and then makes her way back home. She sees Noishe near the entrance of the village, and allows the dog to lead her back home, as he generally tends to do when she goes to Iselia.

She puts the groceries away, growing groggier by the moment, and then decides that maybe a nap isn’t such a bad idea.

It’s nearing evening by now, but she doesn’t think about that as she gets back into bed.

She is asleep before her head even hits the pillow.

* * *

When she wakes up, the first thing she registers is that her throat feels like sandpaper. The second is that her eyes are so dry that she can hardly even open them. The third is that she can’t get a breath in through her nose, as it is so plugged nothing will pass through.

She takes a moment to consider all of this, then groans and flops back down.

After a moment of moping, she reaches for her phone to check the time. It’s well past eight o’clock; she suspects that her dad has been letting her sleep this whole time, and probably for pretty good reason.

Other than the time, though, she sees that she has a text from Sheena, as well as a missed call from Zelos. She would love to say it’s impressive that she slept through it, but she is far from surprised, given the exhaustion that pulls at her bones.

She texts Sheena back first, and asks if there is a day she is free to come by sometime soon, and then she pulls up Zelos’s number, but hesitates before calling back.

She coughs, hoping it will loosen up her throat a bit, and just goes for it, deciding it is better to call and fake her way through the conversation than to ignore it and risk worrying Zelos.

Zelos picks up immediately.

“Lloyd? Where were you?”

“Oh, um…” She stops, sniffling, then scowls at the wall. “I was sleeping.”

“At six o’clock?”

“Y-yeah, exactly.”

Zelos says nothing for a moment, and then she ventures, “Are you...okay? You know, I _was_ serious about you needing sleep, but it’s generally not healthy to—”

Lloyd interrupts her with a sneeze, then curses lowly.

They are both quiet, and then—

“Lloyd, are you…sick?”

“N-no!” She sniffs loudly as snot threatens to drip from her nose. “J-just, um, the season?”

“You totally _are_ ,” Zelos accuses. “Come on, don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not!” Lloyd protests, the rise in her voice protested by her searing throat. “I—I’m just...waking up, still.”

“You’ve been asleep for _two hours_?”

Lloyd winces. “W-well, more like four, but—”

“ _What_? And you’re trying to tell me you’re not sick?” Zelos huffs. “You need someone to look after you, for once.”

“I can take care of myself,” Lloyd insists. “I’m _fine_ , just—” She sneezes again.

“Fine, my ass,” Zelos mutters. “I’m going to go, then, so you can rest more, have something to eat—whatever you need. Just take care of yourself, for God’s sake.”

“I _do_.”

Zelos laughs. “Well, if you say so. Bye, Lloyd! I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Again, she hangs up faster than Lloyd can even say good-bye.

She drops the phone with a sigh, and then gets up on her feet, unsurprised when they tremble a bit beneath her. She takes the stairs slowly, and finds her dad at the table with two cups in front of him.

“Heard ye talking upstairs,” he says, nodding to one of the cups. “Figured ye might want that.”

Lloyd sits across from him, her head pounding. “This came out of nowhere,” she mutters, pulling the cup—which she sees now is filled with peppermint tea—towards her.

“Typically does,” Dirk says sympathetically. “Jus’ need ta make sure yer resting the next couple day. It’ll pass.”

Lloyd takes a short sip of the tea, relishing in the smoothness of it against her parched throat.

“Yeah,” she says quietly as she sets the cup down again. “I guess I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

“A few days of rest can’t hurt, then,” he says. “I’ll be around, if ye need anything.”

She nods, and he stands and takes his own cup to the sink before wishing her a good night and heading to bed. It’s still early, of course, but she knows he likes to rise with the sun. She cannot say she shares this trait; in general, she prefers to stay up late and sleep in.

Not tonight, though, she muses as she finishes off her drink. She’s still dead tired, and she’s sure she could sleep the entire day ahead of her away, easily.

She takes the cup to the sink with her dad’s, then makes her way upstairs and gets back into bed. She is asleep in no time at all, her sleep dark and deep, and when she wakes up again, light is filtering in through the window and she is shivering just a bit.

She sits up slowly, her muscles aching in protest, and then hangs her head, waiting for her chest to stop heaving.

As her breathing slows again, and hears faint voices from downstairs, but cannot make them out. Maybe Colette or Genis has stopped by—or Raine, maybe, she thinks, remembering the woman’s concern for her yesterday.

Taking her time, she gets out of her current clothes—yesterday’s, because she was too exhausted to even change out of them—and finds the warmest, coziest ones she can to replace them, a too-big sweater and old, tattered sweatpants. She’s beginning to worry that she may have a fever, but she figures there’s nothing she can do about that for the moment and stumbles out of her room, taking the stairs slowly. Whoever is here must hear her, because the voices die down as soon as her door opens, and they do not resume again.

“Morning,” she manages as she comes down the last step, and then freezes once she gets a view of the table.

“Morning,” Zelos greets, and Sheena gives a small wave from her side.

“Or afternoon, maybe,” Sheena adds with a snicker.

“What are you—?” Lloyd stops, breaking into a cough. Her cheeks are very hot, suddenly, and it has nothing to do with her internal temperature.

“Well, when you messaged yesterday and said I should come back, I replied and said I’d be free today,” Sheena explains. “But you must’ve been sleeping by then. Of course, this one knocking on my door at eight in the morning made me think something was deathly wrong with you, but it turns out she’s just _paranoid_.”

Zelos smiles sheepishly. “Well, I _said_ you need someone to look after you. Obviously I was worried.”

“But you s-said—”

“Shh.” Zelos shakes her head. “I don’t care. I was only teasing you. Though, I have to say...it _is_ a little weird. I’m lucky Sheena agreed to come with me. I’d be totally lost.”

“How you could possibly get lost in a village with less than two hundred people is beyond me,” Sheena mutters.

“That’s, like, half the amount of people that message me online every hour,” Zelos complains. “I’m not used to it.”

“Is—is my dad around?”

“Yeah, he’s outside,” Sheena says. “We talked to him for a bit. Told us we could stay here as long as we want to, but you probably wouldn’t be up much.”

“That’s okay,” Zelos coos at her. “Just call me _nurse_!”

“Yeah, _right_.” Sheena rolls her eyes. “You’re the _last_ person who should be taking care of patients.”

“But I’d look pretty sexy in a nurse’s outfit, right, Lloyd?”

Lloyd stares at her, helpless.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she says mournfully. “I totally would.”

Well, she _would_ , but—

Lloyd coughs, then crosses the floor to sit between her friends, dropping her head into her hands.

“I think I’m burning up,” she moans.

“Ah, so you _do_ agree I’d look—”

Sheena slaps Zelos’s arm, scowling. “She means with a fever, idiot.”

“Oh, right.”

“Some nurse you are,” Sheena grumbles.

“I’m still training,” Zelos tells her dismissively. “Anyway, I’m sure you have drugs around here somewhere, right? Where are they?”

“Bathroom upstairs,” Lloyd mutters, and Zelos stands without another word, clearly on a mission.

Once she is gone, Sheena leans forward and says quietly, “I hope it’s okay we came. She was very persistent.”

Lloyd lets out a short, wheezing breath. “It’s fine,” she promises. “Though, there are a lot of ways I’d rather present myself in front of her.”

“Somehow, I seriously doubt she’s focussed on your appearance right now.”

“I don’t know about that,” Lloyd mutters.

Before Sheena can say anything, though, Zelos returns with a bottle of pills, which she victoriously slams against the surface of the table.

“Can you find water, too, miss nurse?” Sheena asks, leaning back and arching one eyebrow.

“Uh— _yes_ , totally. Er, where are the glasses?”

Lloyd lifts her head, then points to a cupboard above the sink, which Zelos hurries away to, pulling out a glass and filling it with tap water.

When she brings it back, Lloyd offers her a small smile and a raspy “Thanks.” She takes two of the pills, then downs the rest of the water, wishing desperately that it would make her throat stop feeling like some kind of fucking desert.

“Are you hungry?” Zelos asks. “You’ve been sleeping so long, I imagine it’s been a while since you’ve eaten.”

Now that she thinks about it, she doesn’t think she _has_ eaten anything—not since breakfast yesterday, that is.

“I guess,” she says, then dissolves into coughs again. “Ugh, nothing _too_ rich, though.”

“Right. Um…” Zelos looks at Sheena, lips turned down a bit. “What do you think?”

“I think, judging by that look, you’ve probably never cooked a meal for yourself or anyone else in your life.”

“That’s not true,” Zelos protests. “My—” She pauses, biting her lip. “Never mind. I’ve definitely cooked before, though. At least a few times.”

“A few times?” Sheena laughs. “That’s not very reassuring. Here, it’s fine. I’ll make some soup or something. Will Dirk want to eat?”

“If he isn’t here yet, probably not.” Lloyd rubs her eyes. “He’ll come in later, I’m sure…”

Sheena nods, then stands and heads to the kitchen.

“Oh,” Zelos says, “speaking of, you know, parents...I talked to Martel again.”

Lloyd glances at Sheena, but the girl doesn’t seem to be listening, focussed on her own task.

“And?” she prompts.

“She said Kratos is currently worker as a freelance writer. He’s not very _sociable_ , apparently, but I guess he’s understandably been a bit of a recluse for the past fifteen years. She gave me a number, though, so when you’re ready, we can give him a call. If he doesn’t answer, Martel just said to let her know and she’d talk to him herself.”

“I see.” Lloyd frowns. “When did you do this?”

“Yesterday,” Zelos says. “I figured it was the least I could do, since it’s such a long way for you to come just to sort out semantics and shit. I know you said you didn’t want to stick me in the middle of it, but I don’t mind doing a bit of leg work, now and then. Honest.”

Lloyd nods slowly. “Okay. Thanks. I don’t think I want to worry about that just now, though.”

“I get it,” Zelos says easily. “Just focus on getting better, for now.”

“Yeah,” Lloyd says, voice tight. “Maybe we can call later in the week.”

“Sounds fine to me.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Sheena asks, glancing back at them as a pot simmers behind her.

“Nothing,” Zelos says. “Just how good you look cooking at the stove.”

Sheena splutters, and Lloyd cannot help the frown that tugs at her lips.

“That’s not funny,” Sheena snaps. “I won’t give you any of this at all if you say anything else like that.”

“Touchy,” Zelos mutters. “It was just a joke, sweetheart.”

Sheena sniffs. “Not a very funny one.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” Zelos looks to Lloyd again. “She’s not very nice to me, you know.”

“You ask for it!” Sheena says hotly.

“That’s not true!”

“You’re both giving me a headache,” Lloyd complains.

“Sorry,” they both say at the same time, then look at each other and laugh.

“Well, I’m glad you get along a bit.” Lloyd sighs. “Have you seen—” She stops, coughing. “Have you seen Colette and Genis?”

Sheena shakes her head, then turns back to the stove. “I figured if you were feeling better later, we could go into the village. I’m sure they’d want to meet Zelos.”

“I dunno know how many critics I can take,” Zelos says heavily. “I’m fragile, you know.”

“The worst thing Colette could do to you is trip on you,” Sheena assures her. “Genis might be a bit critical, but as long as you can say something even marginally intelligent, he’ll be fine.”

“Everything I say is incredibly intelligent, thank you very much.”

“Somehow, I’m not really sure if I buy that.”

“So mean…”

“I’m sure they’ll both like you just fine,” Lloyd says, then coughs. “Is that almost done, Sheena?”

“Yeah, just a couple more minutes.”

The conversation dies away until Sheena dishes out three bowls and brings them to the table, and then Zelos leans in close to Lloyd and steals her spoon away before she even gets a chance to pick it up herself.

“What are you doing?” Lloyd asks, exasperated.

“Like any good nurse,” Zelos says, “I have an obligation to feed my patient.”

“What?”

“I don’t think that’s in the job description at all,” Sheena says.

“Doesn’t matter,” Zelos says, waving her free hand. “Open up, Lloyd.”

Obediently, she does, but not without a small huff of protest.

Zelos puts a spoonful of soup into her mouth, and she tries very hard not to spit it out again with how hot it is. Thankfully, though, before the redhead can do it again, there is a knock at the door.

“Expecting company?” Sheena asks, tilting her head a bit.

“No, not that I know of…”

“Huh. Well, either way, I’ll get it.”

She does, and as she turns to the door, Zelos leans close to her and grins.

“You’re so cute,” she coos. “Are you feeling any better?”

Lloyd’s nose twitches, but thankfully no sneeze comes.

“A bit, I guess,” she says. “Thanks for coming out for me.”

“I get lonely without you.” Zelos winks. “And I couldn’t let you suffer all on your own.”

“It’s really—not _that_ bad.”

“Still.”

From the door, Lloyd hears Sheena say, “Come in, then.”

She steps back, and Genis and Colette enter behind her. They remove their shoes, then come up to the table. Genis sets a plate down on the middle of it while Colette beams.

“Hey!” she says. “You must be Zelos, right?”

“That’s right, angel,” Zelos says, smiling crookedly. “You must be Colette.”

“Yep!” She comes around and sits on Lloyd’s other side. “How are you, Lloyd? Genis and I figured you probably weren’t feeling well, so we brought over some cookies!”

“Don’t worry,” Genis adds, sitting between Sheena and Zelos. “Raine didn’t touch them at all.”

“Thanks,” Lloyd says, offering a small smile. “I guess you were right, huh?”

“I usually am,” Genis says, snickering. “With so much on your mind, it’s not much of a surprise.”

Lloyd shudders. “Still, it’s been”—she coughs—“ _years_ since I’ve been sick.”

“Maybe you’ve been spending too much time with Zelos,” Sheena suggests.

“W-what’s _that_ supposed to mean?!”

The rest of them laugh.

“She’s just kidding,” Lloyd promises. “It is true that I’ve been a bit distracted, not sleeping much…” She shrugs. “Hopefully it’ll pass as quickly as it came.”

“Yeah, before people start saying that I dumped you,” Zelos jokes. “My poor, sad, heartbroken mistress.”

Lloyd frowns. “You really think it would only take a couple days?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. We spend two days in a row together, then two days apart looks like we had some kind of fight or something. My manager’ll have my hands if I start a big scandal, you know.”

“It can’t be that extreme,” Genis says, disbelieving. “It’s not very fair to Lloyd.”

Zelos puts her hands up. “Hey, I agree. I’m just saying that if there’s nothing to gossip about, someone usually makes something up. And people really like to talk about me. Can’t help that, unfortunately.”

“I don’t care,” Lloyd mutters, taking her spoon and stirring her soup thoughtfully. “They can talk about us if they want to. It doesn’t change anything.”

Zelos hums. “That’s true enough, I guess,” but she still sounds hesitant.

“Your manager sounds so uptight,” Lloyd says, thinking back to what Zelos said about her wardrobe.

“Well, my reputation is her job, basically.” Zelos smiles wryly. “I don’t make it a very easy job for her.”

“Because you flirt with everything that moves,” Sheena points out. “I wouldn’t want to be your manager, either.”

“I’m not _that_ bad,” Zelos complains. “It makes me popular with ladies, if nothing else. Besides, that’s just how the business is. At least I’m not an alcoholic.”

“Instead you have sex with strangers?”

“I never had sex with Lloyd,” Zelos says crossly. “How would you know I wasn’t just being nice?”

“I don’t think many people get a girl drunk just to be nice,” Sheena retorts.

“I wasn’t drunk from one drink,” Lloyd protests.

“You were by the end of the one she bought you!”

“I think it was fate,” Zelos says, sniffing. “We were destined to be best friends.”

Lloyd’s chest twists.

“Yeah,” she mutters. “Best friends.”

Colette shoots her a sympathetic look, but turns back to Zelos with a smile just as quickly.

“I’m glad you guys met,” she says, bright as ever. “Lloyd is always so happy when she talks about you! It makes me glad she finally has someone she feels so comfortable around.”

Zelos cocks her head. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, we’ve been friends forever,” Genis says, “but we’re just all pretty different. Colette’s girly, I’m nerdy, Lloyd’s...tough, I guess.”

Zelos laughs. “Well, I’m pretty far from tough.”

“Yeah, but it’s different!” Colette insists. “Even if you guys have differences, you go together really well. Lloyd seems so much more at ease with herself since meeting you!”

Lloyd makes a face. “Come on, Colette…”

But Zelos is looking at her with a very unusual look, as if she hasn’t really been _seeing_ her until now.

“I see,” Zelos says quietly. “I had no idea.”

Lloyd takes a spoonful of soup to avoid saying anything, and in the silence, Sheena takes one of Genis’s cookies.

“These are good,” she remarks, and Genis smiles.

“Thanks! Colette helped make them, too.”

Colette giggles. “I didn’t do much. Mostly just sat back and kept you company.”

Zelos reaches for one, too, but Lloyd slaps her hand.

“No way,” she says. “Watch your figure, yeah?”

Zelos pouts at her. “It’s not _that_ bad.”

Lloyd sniffles and rubs her nose. “Talk to me again once you start working out again.”

“So harsh…”

They table laughs at this, and, despite the cold plaguing her body, Lloyd cannot help but feel at peace, utterly and completely, with the most important people in her life by her sides.

* * *

“Do you really think he’ll answer?” Lloyd asks, dubious.

“Don’t worry too much,” Zelos says dismissively. “If he doesn’t, he’ll either call back later or Martel will hunt him down for you. It’s not too late to back out, though, if you want to.”

Lloyd inhales sharply, shaking her head. “No. I have to meet him.”

“Then, call away. If you want me to leave, I can.”

“No, it’s okay.” She watches the call button a moment longer, then lifts her phone higher and presses her thumb against it decisively.

When she brings it up to her ear, it rings twice, and then—

“Hello?”

Her heart hammers in her chest.

“H-hi,” she stammers. “Is this Kratos?”

“Yes, speaking.”

Zelos reaches over her and grabs her free hand, holding it tightly as she looks forward, unseeing.

“I got this number from Martel Yggdrasill,” Lloyd continues, praying that her voice does not sound as shaky as it feels. “I was wondering if I could arrange a meeting with you.”

The other side of the line is silent for a moment. If not for the sounds of Kratos’s breathing, Lloyd might’ve worried he had hung up on here.

“Who is this?” he finally asks.

“I—I would prefer if you would let me withhold that until we can meet. Er, Martel and Yuan can both vouch for me, though. In fact, they said we could meet at their shop, if you were okay with that.”

Silence, again.

And then:

“I have a rather free day today. I’m assuming you have the time, since you called?”

Relief floods through Lloyd’s chest. “Y-yeah,” she says. “I’m not from the city, but I can be around as long as you need me to be.”

“I see.” He pauses, as if thinking. “I’ll be available all afternoon, but I prefer to keep things short, when I can.”

Lloyd glances at Zelos, then holds the speaker away from her mouth.

“Martel will close it up for us, right? How much time does she need?”

“At least an hour, probably.” Zelos takes her free hand to check the time on her phone. “You could meet around three, if he’ll be around.”

Lloyd nods, then brings the phone back near her face. “Can we meet at three this afternoon?”

“At Martel’s shop?”

“That’s right.”

“I suppose so.”

“G-great. Thank you. See you.”

She pulls the phone away before he can say anything else, ending the call and dropping her phone on her lap, suddenly feeling as though it is burning hot.

“Why does it feel more like I’ve just made a business call than talked with my birth father for the first time?”

“Ah, well, Martel did say he was quite official,” Zelos muses. “That’s okay, though. Gives you some time to—”

Before she can finish, her own phone rings with an incoming call, and she holds it up, squinting at the ID.

“You really should answer that,” Lloyd says. “That’s, like, the third time it’s rang since I’ve been here today.”

Zelos frowns. “It’s my fucking manager,” she snaps. “I don’t really want to talk to her.”

She declines the call before Lloyd can say another word.

“Why are you ignoring her?”

Zelos looks away, scowling.

“You can tell me,” Lloyd coaxes. “What’s the matter?”

Zelos sighs, running a hand through her hair. “It’s just...she’s mad, because she thinks I’m, like, _using_ you or something. She says it’s bad for my future if I keep up this whole _womanizer_ thing. It was cute when you were a teenager, she said. Now it’s just annoying. She says nobody takes me seriously anymore, as if I really have _bad_ publicity. You know, I’m one of the most followed people online in the world, but I can’t be seen out with a friend without someone at my throat over it. It’s _stupid_.” She lets go of Lloyd’s hand, crossing her arms and sniffing in annoyance. “I hate that I can’t just have my _own_ life.”

Lloyd says nothing, and then she reaches over and takes Zelos’s phone from her lap, setting it aside and then reaching for the other girl’s hands.

“Stop thinking about them,” she says. “Don’t even bother.”

Zelos laughs, but it is a very unhappy sound. She still does not look at Lloyd.

“I can’t just look away,” she mutters.

“But I’m here,” Lloyd reminds her. “Even if everything else disappeared, I’d be here. Don’t look at them. Don’t look at anybody else but me.”

This time, when Zelos laughs, it is so much more genuine. She looks at Lloyd with a small smile.

“You’re kind of demanding, you know,” she murmurs, and Lloyd is suddenly very aware of how close they are, the few inches that separate their lips, the—

Zelos’s phone rings again.

“I really ought to put that thing on silent,” she grumbles as Lloyd disentangles their hands and reaches for the phone.

“It’s Martel,” she says, answering it herself.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Lloyd, is that you?”

“Yeah.”

“Kratos just called.”

Lloyd’s blood goes cold. “Y-yeah?”

“He seemed a little sceptical,” she says, almost as if she is apologizing. “But it probably is a good thing you didn’t tell him your name. He might not’ve agreed then. If you want to come by around two-thirty, we’ll close up for you so you can have some time alone. Yuan, Mithos, and I will be in the back, of course, but we’ll mind our business. Well, probably. Mithos can be a little sneaky sometimes.”

Lloyd’s lips twitch up. “That’s okay. Thanks for everything, Martel.”

“Of course. Ah, we’ll see you soon, then? Come by whenever you want, obviously, but—two-thirty?”

“Sounds pretty good to me.”

“Great! See you soon, then.”

“Bye.”

She hangs up, then passes the phone back to Zelos, who takes a moment to shut it off and set it on her other side.

“No more manager calls,” she says. “Just you. I’ll set that pesky woman straight another time. For _now_ , we have—what? Two hours to kill, right? I won’t let you sit here and overthink yourself to death. Let’s do something fun?”

“Like what?” Lloyd asks, amused.

Zelos thinks about it for a moment, then she grins deviously. “Let’s go _shopping_.”

“Huh?” Lloyd blinks, alarmed. “What are you—?”

“Well, I know you haven’t agreed yet, but we’ll need to find you something cute to wear to that banquet, right? So, let’s go try some stuff on! Come on, it’ll be fun. We don’t need to buy anything yet. Just try it!”

Lloyd hesitates a moment, then eventually relents, useless to Zelos’s pout.

By the time they get to the shopping district of Zelos’s choice, it is about one-thirty. Despite this, Zelos seems to take her time dragging Lloyd around. Though she is entirely out of her element, Lloyd finds herself relaxing in no time at all, trying on one fancy dress or another while Zelos gasps and applauds. As two-thirty nears, they both are in much better moods, and Lloyd has hardly thought about her upcoming meeting with Kratos at all.

But the distraction can only last so long, and at about quarter to three in the afternoon, they make it to The Great Tree.

“Sorry we’re later than we said,” Lloyd tells Martel as they step inside. It is empty, except for Martel, Yuan, and Mithos, who are sat around a table near the door.

“It’s no problem,” Martel says, smiling brightly. “Kratos won’t be here until three, anyway. Lloyd, Zelos, I don’t believe either of you have formally met my brother yet. This is Mithos.”

Lloyd and Zelos both wave, while Mithos nods to them.

“He doesn’t talk much,” Martel says. “He’s a little shy.”

Mithos scowls at this.

“He’s probably about the same age as Genis, huh?” Lloyd muses, and Zelos purses her lips, thinking, then nods slowly.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Who’s that?” Martel asks.

“My good friend from back home,” Lloyd says. “He lives with his older sister, too.”

“Maybe they would get along,” Martel suggests.

Lloyd laughs. “They might.”

“Why don’t you two sit down?” Yuan says, standing with a small sigh. “Can we get you anything? Coffee, maybe?”

“I don’t think Lloyd needs anything that will make her anymore jittery than she already is,” Zelos jokes. “But she’d take tea, if you could.”

“It’s no problem,” Martel chirps, getting to her feet. “What about you, Zelos? You look like you could use some waking up.”

“Maybe,” Zelos concedes. “I’ll take just about anything as long as it has sugar.”

“Can do! Mithos, come with us.”

Mithos looks at Lloyd and Zelos briefly, his eyes lingering critically on Lloyd, and then he stands and follows his sister and brother-in-law into the kitchen.

“Nervous?” Zelos asks, pulling out a chair for Lloyd to sit.

She does, exhaling slowly and then looking up to Zelos with a quick smile.

“Not with you here, no.”

Zelos laughs, charmed. “You really know your way to a lady’s heart, huh? Well, that’s what I’m here for. Your little ‘don’t look at anybody else’ thing applies both ways, you know.”

“There’s nobody else I’d rather look at,” Lloyd says confidently.

Zelos blinks, then opens her mouth to respond but is interrupted as the door opens.

“Martel?” a man calls out, and Lloyd bites her tongue, recognizing it.

“It’s okay,” Zelos whispers beside her ear. “I’m here.”

Her shoulders fall slightly, and she nods. Behind them, she hears Martel say, “Oh, Kratos! You’re earlier than we were expecting. Do you want something to drink? Something to eat?”

“I don’t plan on staying long,” he replies curtly.

“I’m going to get you some water,” Martel decides.

“Martel—”

Lloyd takes a deep breath and turns around, taking the man behind her in. He looks older than he did in the pictures, of course, but he still seems too young to look so tired. His hair is lighter than Lloyd’s, but it has the same messy style to it, as if it is untameable. He holds himself rigidly, as if always waiting for _something_.

Their eyes meet, and Lloyd freezes.

A long time ago, she knew someone who would sit through the night with her, pointing out stars and constellations. Ever since she knew that man, she has been searching the night sky for something, anything, some light that she used to see…

It is here, in this man’s eyes, the same shade of brown as hers.

Before she can even process what she is doing, Lloyd is on her feet. Kratos watches her, guarded.

“Thank you for coming,” she manages, but her mouth is very dry. “Would you mind sitting with us?”

Kratos considers her a moment longer, and then nods, coming around to sit opposite Lloyd and Zelos.

They sit down at the same time, eyes on one another.

“I don’t work with celebrities,” Kratos says. “If that’s what this is about.”

“It’s not,” Zelos assures him. “I’m only here for moral support.”

Kratos furrows his eyebrows.

Before any of them can say anything else, Martel returns with drinks, one for each of them.

“We’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything,” she promises, then backs away and disappears again.

Lloyd lifts the teacup and takes a small sip.

When she sets it back down again, she says, “I met Martel almost two months ago.”

Kratos watches her, unspeaking.

“She thought she recognized me,” Lloyd continues, “but she wasn’t sure until we met again, about a month later. We talked, a bit, and she got to telling me about you.”

Zelos puts a comforting hand over her thigh. Lloyd tangles their fingers together.

“I wasn’t really sure what to believe,” she confesses. “I’m adopted, you see. I only knew my mother’s name, growing up, and the only father I ever knew was the one who raised me from the time I was three years old on.” She hesitates, then presses her free hands against the table firmly, watching as her knuckles turn white. “My name is Lloyd Irving. I think you might be my father.”

Kratos says nothing. Even his eyes are blank, as if they see nothing at all. Almost like he is just going through the motions, he picks up his water and takes a careful sip.

Lloyd waits, heart beating fast.

“That’s impossible,” Kratos says. “My daughter is dead.”

Lloyd stares at him, mouth dry.

“No way,” Zelos says flatly. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“Zelos—”

“No,” she says. “I won’t take this shit. What kind of father gives up on his daughter like that? Just stops looking for her? You’re lucky she even wants to talk to you at all.”

Lloyd shakes her head.

“My mother’s name is Anna,” she tries again. “I was found between Mizuho and Sybak, and put into the foster system. I was adopted shortly after, by a man just outside of Iselia. There were no tangible records of my family, aside from my name and my mother’s. She died on impact. I barely made it, but I came out of the aftermath of the accident healthy. I grew up in the Iselia area, but I met Martel here on an outing with a friend who lives here. We met a second time, thanks to Zelos. She gave me an old photo album, which kinda killed any doubts I had. The kid in those pictures is me. I’m more certain about this than anything.”

Kratos finishes his water. Lloyd does not miss the tremble in his hands.

“I don’t know what to say,” he finally admits. “This doesn’t even feel real.”

“I know,” Lloyd says. “But—even if it takes time, I want to have you in my life. I’ll do what I can, when I can, and I know Martel and Yuan will—”

“No way, Lloyd,” Zelos speaks up. “That’s not fair. He won’t even accept you.”

“Zelos,” she says, “I can’t—”

“It’s a parent’s job to accept his child,” she insists. “Until he does that, he’s still the man who stopped looking for you fifteen years ago.”

“ _Zelos_ —”

“I believe you,” Kratos says slowly. “I don’t think Martel would do something like this unless she was certain. But your friend is right. I stopped looking. I gave up on you. I hardly deserve to call myself your father.”

Lloyd’s hand falls away from Zelos’s, and she folds both her hands into shaking fists in her lap.

“That’s bullshit,” she spits. “You don’t—you don’t get to—not after I—not when—”

Her eyes sting, and she looks away, breathing shallowly.

“I let my friends convince me to stop looking,” Kratos says quietly. “Even though I never really believed my daughter was dead. Everyone says I changed once I had a family. They said I changed after I had one, too. I’m not the man I was when I was with Anna. I never could be again.”

Lloyd sniffs. “I don’t _care_ ,” she stresses. “I don’t care if you’re not the same. You’re my father.”

She cannot look at him, but she knows he is looking at her.

Finally, quietly, he says, “You have her smile.”

Lloyd looks up, startled.

“The same lips,” he says. “You don’t cry much, do you? ...Anna never did either.”

“I…” She bites her lips, looking down at her tea. Her hands loosen slightly.

“I don’t think I can ask you to consider me your father yet,” Kratos says. “It isn’t fair. I have had next to no part in your life. I gave up on you. When you needed a parent most, I wasn’t the one you got. To insert myself into your life now would be—”

“I’m _asking_ you to,” Lloyd stresses. “I’m _saying_ —I _want_ you in my life. I want to know you, more than some broken up memories and countless nights looking up at stars I could never remember the names of. I don’t care about the past. I just want the future.”

“You remind me so much of Anna.”

“...What?”

“If she were here,” Kratos says, “I think she would be angry with me, for trying to deny you at all. I’m sorry, Lloyd. I...have wronged you in a lot of ways. It’s not my choice, but yours, if you want me in your life.”

“I do,” Lloyd says, chest heaving. “More than anything.”

He looks down, away from her eyes.

“I think I have some things to think about,” he says hoarsely. “But I’ll do what I can, to be available when you want me to be. I’ll be around here, reachable by phone… If you need something, I will be there.”

Lloyd nods, throat too tight to speak.

“Are you leaving?” Zelos asks, and her voice is a touch icy, more so than Lloyd has ever heard it, she thinks.

“I believe it would be for the best,” Kratos says slowly. “For now, at least.”

“Don’t run away from what you have,” Zelos tells him. “That’s selfish. It’s cruel to Lloyd, too.”

“...I know.”

“That’s good. I hope you won’t forget it.”

“Zelos—”

“I won’t,” Kratos says, standing up. “...Thank you for contacting me, Lloyd. I hope we can see each other again very soon.”

“Me too,” Lloyd says, but her chest feels very hollow.

Without another word, he turns and leaves the shop.

Lloyd stares at her hands for a moment. Her nails have left marks against her palms, but she doesn’t feel them at all. She flexes her fingers, hoping to reduce the stiffness in them.

“Zelos,” she says.

“What is it?”

“...What happened, exactly, between you and your parents.”

“What?”

Lloyd looks up at her, frowning. “I just want to understand why you…”

Zelos says nothing for a very long time. Lloyd has no idea what to do with the silence, and so she downs the rest of her tea.

After a long stretch of minutes, Zelos says, “It’s complicated. But...I can explain to you, once we’re back home.”

Lloyd nods. “I’d like to hear, if you’ll tell me.”

“Only because you asked so nicely,” Zelos tells her, but her heart is not in the words as Lloyd is accustomed to hearing.

They stand and carry the dishes back to the counter. Martel meets them there with a sad smile.

“It’ll take time,” she says, “but Kratos will grow warmer.”

Lloyd believes it.

They thank her, and then begin to the walk back home. It’s a very hot day, but Lloyd walks close to Zelos anyway, basking in the heat of her body. Their fingers brush, but do not connect. It will take time before Zelos stops thinking about what the world thinks, Lloyd knows, but that’s okay. They have all the time of their lives, after all.

When they return to the mansion, Zelos leads her to a room that Lloyd distinctly remembers bypassing on the initial tour of the place. She did not ask what it was then, and she does not ask now.

Inside, there is an unused bed, with pink sheets and blankets. The room is covered in dust. Lloyd gets the feeling it has been many years since someone has even stepped foot in here.

“I told you once I have no living family left,” Zelos says quietly. “I lied.”

Lloyd reaches out for her hand. She allows her to hold it, and offers a weak smile.

“My parents were unhappy in their marriage. My father took a mistress, a young woman far below his economic and societal status. They had an illegitimate child, but my father refused to allow her a part in that child’s life. She lived here with us. Her name is Seles. This is her room.”

Lloyd looks around, eyeing the dusty corners of the room.

“Seles isn’t much younger than I am,” Zelos says. “She’s the same age as you. But when I was about seven, on the first snowy day of winter I had ever seen, my mother was found dead in this house.”

“She killed herself?”

Zelos shakes her head. “That’s what they _said_ happened, but I’m not so sure… Seles was taken away from here the same day, and her mother has apparently been in prison ever since. My father had died of illness—too much alcohol, too many drugs, too much sex… You can’t keep that kind of lifestyle up forever. I grew up here mostly on my own. Sebastian was the closest thing I had to a parent at all. People wanted me in movies before I even really knew what I was signing up for, and before I knew it, I had made a bigger name for myself than my father even had.”

Lloyd swallows, then tightens her grip on Zelos’s hand.

“I see,” she says.

“What you do with Kratos is your choice,” Zelos says. “But please be careful, at least.”

Lloyd looks her over, the sombre expression, the earnest eyes—this is Zelos at her most honest, without a doubt.

Lloyd steps closer, wrapping her arms around the girl tightly.

“Okay,” she breathes. “I promise I will.”

When Zelos embraces her back, she cannot help but feel that all of this will really be okay.

* * *

After their short-lived shopping trip, Lloyd figures that it probably can’t be _too_ bad of an idea to attend the Bryants’ banquet, but when she tells Zelos and the girl absolutely lights up with the words, she knows it was the right decision.

“There was a dress you tried on the other day that I really liked,” Zelos explains. “I couldn’t help but buy it.”

“Zelos!”

“It’s nothing,” she says dismissively. “Anything for the prettiest girl in the world.” She winks. “After me, anyway.”

Lloyd rolls her eyes, but cannot argue with it.

In the couple weeks between her meeting with Kratos and the banquet, Lloyd is given plenty of time to think things over, and she spends a lot of time at The Great Tree with Kratos, Martel and Yuan occasionally joining them.

Lloyd tells Kratos about her life up until now, and he in exchange offers her stories of her early childhood and the time before it. It is very apparent from the way he speaks, Lloyd thinks, that he is still very in love with Anna.

A part of her cannot help but wonder if she will ever talk about Zelos like that, with that fondness, that tender love—and then she thinks that maybe, just maybe, she already _does_.

This is only encouraged by Martel, who sits with her on a slow afternoon and chats about the banquet with her.

“We were contacted to cater,” Martel explains. “I had no idea Zelos was planning to take you. I don’t think she’s ever taken another person to an event like this.”

“What?”

“Well, it’s just not like her.” Martel shrugs. “She’s not a very exclusive person. Mind you, that’s definitely a change people have seen in her since meeting you. The gossip articles might not be true, but they definitely have something right.”

“Oh.” Lloyd exhales slowly, opens her mouth to say something, then closes it again, frowning.

“You know,” Martel tells her, “if there’s ever anything you need to say, you can tell me. I know I’m a far cry from your mom, but...well, having only men around to confide in can kind of suck. And friends are good, but I know when I was growing up, I’d always ask my parents for advice before I’d ask someone like Yuan or Kratos.”

Lloyd laughs. She certainly doesn't blame Martel for that.

“Well,” she says, “I guess I’m just a bit confused, is all. When Zelos and I met, she was trying to pick me up in some bar my friend had taken me to. But since then, we’ve gotten really close, and I know it’s just a—a friendship thing, but…” She shakes her head. “My friends are telling me that if I have feelings, I should act on them, but I don’t want to mess up what we have now. Besides,” she adds in a rush, cheeks warming, “I’m inexperienced. Zelos isn’t.”

Martel considers her for a moment, nodding thoughtfully.

“I kind of figured there were some feelings there,” she admits. “Right from the beginning, from both of you. I don’t think you could mess anything up. At the end of the day, you guys are still best friends. You’ve helped each other in amazing ways. I don’t know about you, but Zelos certainly is better for meeting you. Even if it’s not romantic, there’s a deep love there. Anybody who sees you two together would have to be blind to miss it. Nothing you do or Zelos does could destroy that, I think.”

Lloyd blinks, surprised. It is the first time someone has said love—except for Colette, but Lloyd feels, somehow, that that conversation was quite different. Lloyd hasn’t really thought about it, but…

“I think I’m in love with her,” she confesses. “I’ve never been in love before.”

Martel smiles softly. “Neither has she. You’re an important part of her life. When she looks at you, I’m almost convinced you’re the _most_ important part of her life.”

Lloyd looks down at her hands, heart pounding fast.

“What am I supposed to do, then?”

“It’ll work out if it’s meant to,” Martel promises. “And I have a pretty good feeling about it.”

When Lloyd leaves the bake shop that day, she feels a lot better about what’s coming.

Admittedly, she finds herself very quickly at ease around Martel, Yuan, and Kratos. She doesn’t see Mithos much, but she hopes that someday they will be close, too. From what Lloyd has learned since meeting them all, Kratos cares for Mithos in a very similar way to how Martel and Yuan once—and still do, Martel would insist—loved her.

She figures that eventually she will need to invite them to meet Dirk and friends, but for now, it is probably safest to leave the distance between them all. Her dad, Colette, Genis, and Raine have heard everything, but Lloyd knows that Kratos is far from being comfortable enough to meet the people Lloyd grew up with just yet.

It will take time, she knows, and she is willing to let it.

While she has been working on her family ties, though, Zelos has been in contact with her manager multiple times. The woman frustrates Zelos to no end, Lloyd can tell, but eventually they seem to reach a conclusion, which, as Lloyd sees it, is a threat from Zelos about the manager’s contract and the woman immediately stepping back, knowing better than to have things any other way than Zelos’s.

Lloyd can’t say this is the _best_ way for things to turn out, but it seems to make Zelos significantly less antsy.

Eventually, the day of the banquet comes, and Zelos insists that Lloyd allow one of her stylists to dress her up. Lloyd doesn’t even get a chance to say no before she is led to a room by a short blonde woman who absolutely means business.

It takes _hours_ , but Lloyd is finally released from the hands of the stylist, and is placed before a mirror to see herself. Her hair has been curled and pinned, laying more flatly than it surely ever has done in her life, and her face is made up with soft, shining pinks. She doesn’t even look like herself, she thinks uncomfortably, but at least the dress that Zelos bought her is one she liked; it is long, but not skin-tight, modest but not _too_ modest. It’s rose, strapless, and very, very different from anything she would ever be caught wearing normally. Finally, her neck has been adorned with a pink pearl necklace, thankfully the only jewelry they have given her.

“Miss Irving?” the stylist asks from behind her. “I believe Miss Wilder is waiting for you.”

Lloyd nods and allows the woman to escort her down the stairs and to the sitting room, wearing Zelos is sat on the couch with her legs crossed. Her hair is braided elegantly, and she wears a dress of similar style to Lloyd’s, but it is a gentle lavender colour.

When Zelos looks up at her, Lloyd immediately loses the ability to breathe.

Zelos stands, grinning, and comes to a stop in front of her.

“Wow,” she says. “And here I thought I could never be outshined by another girl.”

Lloyd’s cheeks sting. “Sh-shut up.”

“I’ll have to be careful with you,” Zelos purrs quietly. “People will be trying to steal you all night.”

Lloyd’s stomach curls in on itself, and she cannot even make herself respond.

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to, because Zelos steps away from her and thanks the stylists before turning and calling for Sebastian.

It’s hardly worth the drive, Lloyd thinks, but Zelos explained earlier that as small of an area Meltokio Heights _seems_ , it’s a lot bigger than it is.

“And there is never a walk you can do in heels that you _won’t_ regret,” she said gravely.

Lloyd is beginning to understand the sentiment already, as she slips on the simple black heels that Zelos has supplied for her and makes the short walk out to the car.

She and Zelos sit in silence while they drive, but Lloyd gets the distinct impression that Zelos is only so quiet because something in on her mind. She can see it in the girl’s twitching fingers, the short-lived frowns that mar her face every few moments, the tightness in her shoulders…

But Lloyd says nothing about it, unsure of how to comfort her if Zelos won’t tell her what is wrong, and instead just offers out a hand for the girl, who takes it with a small smile.

Their hands fall away from one another once they arrive. Sebastian comes around to open the door for them, and Zelos exits first, taking a careful look around, and then she turns and puts a hand out for Lloyd to help her out of the vehicle.

It takes a few moments before Zelos drops it again, this time.

“Have a good evening, Miss Wilder, Miss Irving.” Sebastian makes his way back to the driver’s seat of the car without another word.

“Let’s go,” Zelos says quietly, leading the way up the steps of the mansion.

It probably isn’t bigger than Zelos’s, Lloyd’s sure, but it certainly isn’t _smaller_. At the door, men and women line up before entering, being checked off on a list and having their coats or other belongings stored safely away.

“This is crazy,” Lloyd mutters, and Zelos laughs.

“Don’t worry,” she says. “Once we’re inside, you can have some champagne to loosen yourself up a bit. You’ll get used to it. Probably.”

That is not very reassuring, Lloyd thinks, but she has no time to argue with it before they are at the doors, and a young man is greeting Zelos with a smile.

“Who’s your plus-one tonight, Miss Wilder?”

Zelos glances at Lloyd, then looks back to the man with an easy grin.

“This is my best friend,” she says. “The beautiful Lloyd Irving.”

He nods, checking his list, and then steps aside to let them through.

“Stay by my side,” Zelos whispers, and Lloyd has absolutely no reason to object.

There are already many people milling around, all of them surely some form of _rich_ or _famous_. Lloyd thinks of her small home in Iselia, the carpentry work her father does to get them by, all the people she knew growing up who survived off of family farms.

They stay near the edges of the room, a few people stopping to talk to Zelos as they do. People give Lloyd quick once-overs, but nobody engages with her at all. She figures this is probably for the best, but her stomach still twists into painful knots over it.

After a bit, Zelos catches a server holding a tray of drinks and takes one off of it, passing it to Lloyd.

“You look like you’re going to be sick,” Zelos murmurs. “It’s okay. Just relax.”

Lloyd downs he flute of champagne, almost choking on it as she does, and then passes the empty glass to Zelos meekly, who only laughs at her and accepts it before handing it off to a server about a minute later.

Eventually, they reach the front of the room, where a man and a woman stand greeting guests who pass by them. Beside the woman is a younger girl, probably around fourteen or fifteen, but she is the splitting image of the woman. Lloyd suspects they are probably related.

“Good evening, Regal, Alicia,” Zelos says as they approach. She looks to the girl and smiles at her. “Presea, as well.”

“It’s always a pleasure, Zelos,” the woman, Alicia, says, outstretching her hand.

Zelos steps nearer, taking Alicia’s hand and kissing the back of it gently.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Zelos tells her.

“I see you’ve brought a guest,” the man says. “Would you care to introduce us?”

“Of course,” Zelos says, and she is back at Lloyd’s side in a heartbeat. “This is Lloyd Irving.”

“A friend?” Alicia asks, tilting her head a bit.

“A very good one,” Zelos agrees. “Lloyd, this is Regal and Alicia Bryant. The little one is Alicia’s sister, Presea.”

Lloyd looks to Zelos helplessly, her mouth refusing to move at all.

Zelos laughs. “She’s a little out of her comfort zone tonight,” she explains. “But we’re grateful for the invite, as always. Hopefully we’ll see you around this evening.”

“I’m sure we will,” Regal says. “Have a good time.”

“We will,” Zelos promises, then turns and throws Lloyd a wink.

Her stomach is on fire, she thinks.

She really, really needs another drink.

Eventually, the small talk fades away, and Zelos takes them to a table while they watch people begin to get up and dance.

“I hope you’ve improved at dancing since we met,” Zelos remarks. She sips on champagne thoughtfully.

“I definitely haven’t,” Lloyd tells her.

She finishes the drink and sets the empty flute down.

“That’s too bad,” she says, standing up. “I guess it just means I have to teach you.”

“Z-Zelos!”

But her protests are moot, as Zelos manages to get her out of her seat and towards the group of dancing couples. This is much different from the bar, Lloyd knows, but when Zelos intertwines their hands and brings her other hand down to Lloyd’s hip, Lloyd instantly thinks that maybe it is _worse_.

She really, really needs more to drink.

They dance for a bit, Zelos laughing at her every time she missteps and almost steps on Zelos’s toes, and then they eventually head back to the table, each picking up a fresh flute of champagne on the way.

They continue like this for a while, until they are both tipsy and giggling. Lloyd’s anxieties have long since left her, and Zelos has become exceptionally less guarded, touching Lloyd at almost every opportunity she is (which is a lot).

As the time draws nearer to midnight, Zelos whispers to her, “Come outside with me.”

Lloyd frowns, but then realizes what she is saying and nods in agreement, allowing Zelos to lead her out to the back garden. It is much quieter than inside, and a lot cooler, too. Lloyd stumbles a bit, laughing, and Zelos helps to keep her up straight, an arm around her waist.

“You like roses, right?” Lloyd asks, looking around them.

“They’re my favourite,” Zelos agrees. “Even though it’s a little clichéd.”

Lloyd shakes her head. “I think it’s nice.”

Zelos opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted as Lloyd trips on her own feet, almost taking them both down.

“Here,” Zelos says, stopping them. “Take those shoes off, cutie.”

Lloyd does as she’s said, and Zelos takes the shoes from her, carrying them as they continue to walk. Now, Zelos seems to tower over her, but she is only a couple inches taller than normal, Lloyd knows.

Beneath the moonlight, Zelos seems to glow.

“You’re really pretty, you know,” Lloyd blurts.

Zelos blinks, then turns to her and laughs.

“I’m well-aware, but I’m glad you think—”

“You’re sexy,” Lloyd corrects herself. “The most attractive person I’ve ever met.”

Zelos’s smile falls away.

“Come this way,” she says tightly, turning away and leading Lloyd farther into the garden.

Lloyd tries not to let this hurt her, but her chest aches with the tone of Zelos’s voice, anyway.

Zelos takes them to a bench, secluded from the main part of the garden, and they sit together in silence for a moment.

Lloyd’s voice speaks into the night before she can even think about what it is saying:

“I love you.”

She hears Zelos inhale sharply from beside her.

“Lloyd,” she starts, and Lloyd reaches forward and puts a silencing finger over her lips. Now that they are so close, Lloyd can see how wide Zelos’s eyes are, the small, surprised part of her lips…

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” Lloyd whispers, words rushed. “Even when you’re not around, you drive me crazy. You’re so— Everything _about_  you is _so_ —”

She fishes for the word, but cannot find it.

“Lloyd,” Zelos murmurs, the words warm against Lloyd’s hand, “we should get out of here.”

Lloyd stares at her.

“Come home with me,” Zelos breathes, reaching up to grab Lloyd’s hand. “Let’s—”

Lloyd falls back from her, their hands falling away from each other.

“Let’s go home,” Zelos says again, stronger. “Come with me, baby, come with me.”

Lloyd does, and they make their way back through the garden and the house, bodies pressed close together as Zelos holds her by the hip.

Outside, there is no car waiting for them, but Zelos seems to have expected this, and they walk together, slowly but steady despite the alcohol moving through their respective systems, and they make it back to Zelos’s mansion in short time, neither of them fazed by any of the looks they received on their way back at all.

As soon as they are inside, everything happens so fast that Lloyd can hardly even process it:

The door closes behind them and the sound of Lloyd’s shoes clattering to the floor reaches her ears. Then, Lloyd’s back is pressed firmly against the door as Zelos’s pins her wrists back and puts their lips together with a force unlike anything Lloyd has ever felt from the other girl before.

Zelos’s hands move from Lloyd’s wrists and up her arms, sending shivers down her spine, until they eventually come up to cup Lloyd’s cheeks. Lloyd gasps against her mouth as Zelos bites her lip, and then Zelos pulls her close, their chests pressing each other with such little room between them it is a wonder they can breathe at all.

Their mouths separate minimally, saliva strung between them, and Zelos stares at her for a moment before pulling away and grabbing Lloyd by the arm, leading them up the stairs.

“Zelos,” Lloyd pants. “What are—?”

Zelos is opening the door to her room, and when she turns to face Lloyd, the words escape her completely. This time, when they are at each other, it is Lloyd who takes the initiative, pushing them into the room and kicking the door closed behind them.

Lloyd pushes Zelos back until the red-headed girl’s legs hit the edge of her bed and she falls onto the mattress ungracefully. Lloyd wastes no time in getting on top of her, sealing their lips together again.

She had a dream like this once, she thinks distantly. Zelos’s skin against hers, Zelos’s warmth all over her….

Lloyd’s hands roam Zelos’s free skin, and Zelos arches her back beneath her, moaning at the feeling of it.

“Lloyd,” she moans. “Lloyd, _Lloyd_.”

Lloyd pulls away from her, breathing hard, taking in everything she can. Zelos’s wide blue eyes, her kiss-swollen lips, the harshness of her breaths.

“Are you going to fuck me?” Zelos gasps. “I want you, Lloyd, I want you so _bad_.”

Heat courses through Lloyd’s body, and she trails her hands over Zelos’s abdomen, relishing in the way Zelos shudders beneath her at the touch.

“You’re so beautiful,” she whispers, leaning in close to put her face by Zelos’s ear. “I’ve thought about this so much… About you, moaning my name like this…”

“L-Lloyd,” she whines. “Lloyd, please, _please_ —”

Lloyd brushes her teeth against Zelos’s ear, and the girl’s hips grind between Lloyd’s legs.

Lloyd brings her hands around Zelos’s back, searching for a zipper or _something_ to get the dress away, but Zelos is faster than her, lifting herself slightly to do it on her own, the top of the gown falling to reveal small breasts.

In a moment, Lloyd realizes two things very quickly:

One, she is about to have sex with Zelos Wilder.

Two, she has no idea _how_.

She’s drunk, obviously—she’s not sure she could be doing any of this if she weren’t—but now that they are here, she feels her throat closing up, and the alcohol is doing nothing to stop it.

“Lloyd?”

She stops, looking down at Zelos with wide eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I—” She looks from Zelos’s exposed chest to her face, swallowing thickly. “I…”

“I swear to God if you say you’re not gay _now_ …”

Lloyd stares at her for a moment, then bursts into laughter, unable to stop herself even as tears begin to well in her eyes and spill down her face.

“Lloyd?” Zelos tries again, more uncertain now.

“I—I am _super_ drunk,” Lloyd says, hiccupping. “I don’t know what…”

Zelos struggles to sit up, not bothering to cover herself up again as she straightens. Their faces are very close, and Lloyd’s eyes land on Zelos’s lips—

“Lloyd,” Zelos murmurs, pressing her face against Lloyd’s chest. “You’re driving me fucking crazy.”

“I…”

“I don’t want to push you,” she continues, voice hot against Lloyd’s skin. “I’d wait forever for you.”

Lloyd’s heart hammers fiercely in her chest.

“Let’s get some rest, baby.”

Lloyd takes a moment, finding her breathing, and then she brings her hands around the back of Zelos’s head and unties her hair, letting the braid untangle. Zelos looks up at her, surprised, and she uses the opportunity to put their lips together again, a lot gentler this time. Her hands run through Zelos’s hair, and Zelos’s holds her by the back, keeping Lloyd firmly planted on her lap.

They break apart, foreheads resting together, and Zelos reaches a hand up to brush against Lloyd’s face, as if she is only really seeing it for the first time.

“Let’s go to bed,” Lloyd manages. “I’m so tired…”

Zelos laughs lightly. It is a sound Lloyd doesn’t think she could live without hearing every single day.

“You have to get off of me first,” Zelos murmurs.

Lloyd huffs, but does as Zelos says, stumbling as she tries to get to her feet. The arousal flaring in her stomach is almost more intoxicating than the alcohol flowing through her bloodstream, she thinks.

Zelos stands, too, holding her dress up now to cover her chest, but Lloyd grabs her wrist, and Zelos looks up, surprised.

“I want to see,” she whispers, and Zelos inhales sharply, but nods and lets the clothing fall again.

“Don’t I get to see you too?” Zelos asks at her ear, a hand already at the back of Lloyd’s dress. “I’ve wanted to for so long… Ever since you wore my shirt that night.”

Lloyd closes her eyes, breathing in carefully through her nose.

“Okay,” she agrees, and Zelos needs no more encouragement before she is unzipping the article.

“Look but don’t touch?” she asks as Lloyd turns to look at her.

“You can touch,” she says quietly.

Zelos’s hands brush against the exposed skin at her back.

“I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you,” she murmurs.

Lloyd shivers at this, heat curling through her.

Zelos undresses her slowly, until the dress hits the floor, and then comes around to the front of her, eyes moving over her body slowly, carefully…

“I thought you looked gorgeous before,” she says. “But _now_ …”

Lloyd swears her heart stops.

“Zelos,” she starts, but Zelos shakes her head.

“I want to kiss you so bad,” Zelos says, voice raspy and turned on and _hot_ , _so hot_. “I want you to fuck me so bad…. But—not now. Not like this.” She smiles at Lloyd. “It has to be special.”

Lloyd stares at her, chest heaving.

“Let me find you something to wear,” Zelos says, then turns and heads to her closet.

Lloyd can do nothing but watch her. She undresses herself, first, turning back to Lloyd with a rather sultry look, and them puts on her regular silken pyjamas—purple, this time—before turning and hunting down something for Lloyd.

“I may have done a bit of shopping,” she says as she returns. “Hopefully this will fit better.”

Lloyd accepts the clothes, seeing that they are cotton pyjamas, clearly never worn, but they fit her quite well as she puts them on.

“See?” Zelos says, stifling a yawn. “All that time I spent staring at your body has really paid off.”

Lloyd chokes. “All the—what?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Zelos crawls up into her bed, then gets beneath the blankets and watches Lloyd expectantly. “Well? Come here, won’t you?”

Lloyd does not need another moment before she gets into bed beside Zelos. Before she can do anything more, though, Zelos’s holds her around the shoulders, pulling her in close.

“Don’t feel bad,” she murmurs. “I know what you wanted.”

Lloyd hardly hears her, eyelids already falling.

Before everything fades to black, she feels Zelos’s breaths against her ear:

“I love you too, by the way.”

* * *

When Lloyd wakes up, there is an arm slung across her chest and red hair tickling her nose.

She lies still for a moment, basking in the feeling of it, and then remembers everything that has led her to this position.

“ _Fuck_ ,” she says, sitting up hurriedly, flinging Zelos’s arm off of her.

Zelos peeks at her through half-lidded eyes. “Is something wrong?”

This is all so weird, she thinks. This is all so messed up. This is all so—

“You’re thinking too hard,” Zelos murmurs, hands coming up to latch onto Lloyd’s arm. “Come here, before you hurt yourself.”

Lloyd frowns at her. “I—I’m not—”

“It’s okay,” Zelos coos, pulling her closer. “Let’s just wake up first…”

Before Lloyd can say anything else, Zelos’s breathing deepens again, and the girl is fast asleep.

Lloyd watches her a moment, mouth dry. Even sleeping, she is beautiful; more angelic than she looks while awake, surely, but still Zelos, gorgeous, perfect Zelos…

The girl she loves.

She exhales shakily, replaying what she can remember of the night before in her mind. The feeling of Zelos beneath her, of Zelos’s skin against hers, the way Zelos moved against her…

Arousal stirs in her stomach, and her cheeks burn.

She supposes there’s nothing she can do for now but let Zelos sleep, and so she carefully untangles herself from the other girl and exits the room, trying to stay as quiet as she possibly can.

Downstairs, she sees Sebastian at the table. He looks up at her, surprised, but quickly covers the look with a smile.

“Good morning, Miss Irving,” he says. “Would you like some coffee?”

“Oh.” She blinks. “Um, sure, please.”

He nods, turning to the kitchen, and she takes a seat at the table, sighing heavily.

The clock on the wall informs her that it is about seven in the morning. She blows a loose strand of hair out of her eyes, then recalls the pins and such that have been there since last night and takes a moment to pull them out, littering the table with them.

Eventually, Sebastian returns with a cup of coffee and some cream and sugar. Lloyd ignores them, instead just accepting the coffee graciously and taking a long drink of it, hoping it will dispel whatever the hell is going on in her head.

It doesn’t work, but thankfully by the time she is halfway through her second cup of coffee, she hears footsteps descending the stairs.

“Good morning, Miss Wilder,” Sebastian says mildly. He has been sitting beside Lloyd for some time now, but she has hardly noticed him at all.

“Morning,” Zelos responds. “Is there more of that?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As Sebastian leaves, Zelos takes his seat and looks at Lloyd, as if she is thinking.

“That freaked you out, didn’t it?”

Lloyd stares down at her coffee. “I… No. I wanted it.”

“That doesn’t mean it didn’t scare you.”

Lloyd wishes her pulse would slow a bit. “It was just so fast. I’ve never even…” She looks away, face burning.

“You’ve never even kissed anyone before, right?”

“...Yeah.”

“I didn’t want to push you,” Zelos says quietly. “This whole time, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I—I know you told me you weren’t interested at first, but the more I got to know you, the more I started to hope that maybe you would change your mind. But I…” She stops, then leans forward and puts a hand on Lloyd’s cheek, pulling Lloyd’s gaze back to her. “I’ve never met anybody like you. I’m used to people falling in love with me, doing everything they can to get my attention, but...you’re the one person who turned it all around. You’re the only person I want to see. You’re the person I would turn the world over for, if it was the only way I could get to you. I was fine with just being your friend, as long as it meant I could be close to you, but…”

Lloyd cannot look away from her eyes. She isn’t sure she would even want to.

“I…” She stops, exhales slowly. “What Colette said, about me being more comfortable since meeting you...it’s true. I had no idea why I couldn’t understand when my friends talked about romance.” She laughs. “I grew up so far away from other people. Everyone I knew was just someone I knew, not someone I could be interested in, in that way. But even though I know now, I can’t think of anyone else I want to be with than you.”

Zelos leans closer, until her breaths tickle against Lloyd’s mouth.

“You’re really something else, Lloyd,” she murmurs. “It’s like you don’t even realize how incredible you are.”

Before Lloyd can say anything, Zelos’s lips are on hers, chaste, soft, so very unlike the kisses they shared the night before.

When they pull apart, Zelos is smiling.

“I know it’s not the _best_ circumstances,” she says, “but I’m glad this happened.”

Behind Zelos, Lloyd sees Sebastian place a cup of coffee, and her face grows very warm.

“Me too,” she manages.

Zelos kisses her again, and her awareness of the things around her slips away entirely.

Eventually, they stand, not kissing anymore but still very, very close, and make their way upstairs again. Lloyd sits on Zelos’s bed while the other girl searches for something to wear.

“Zelos,” she says, and Zelos stops.

“What is it?”

The words refuse to move past her lips.

Zelos comes to stand in front of her, frowning. “What’s the matter?”

Her shirt is partly unbuttoned, revealing her cleavage. She is very small-breasted, but Lloyd’s eyes stick to her chest, anyway.

“Lloyd? Hey, I didn’t come over here just so you could—”

Swiftly, Lloyd makes a grab for her shirt, pulling her close and bringing their lips together. Zelos lets out a yelp, but is quick to recover, kissing Lloyd back roughly, hands running through her hair.

As they kiss, Lloyd brings her hands up to unbutton Zelos’s shirt further.

Zelos makes a small noise of surprise against her lips, then laughs.

“Are you going to undress me?” she teases. “Is that all you wanted?”

Lloyd’s hands stop. “Maybe,” she says. “It also occurred to me that I have nothing to wear, though.”

Zelos hums. “That _is_ a problem, yes… We can—ah, we can figure that out later.”

Before Lloyd can say anything, Zelos brings their lips together again. Lloyd feels Zelos’s skin beneath her, far more aware of it than she was last night. Somehow, they wind up flipping over, so that Zelos is beneath Lloyd again, and Zelos breaks their kiss to pull Lloyd’s shirt over her head, tossing it on the floor before going for her mouth again.

Lloyd has done this so many times, she thinks, has touched Zelos like this, has felt her beneath her, and yet this time, it is _real_ , it is a tangible _thing_ , something that is not beyond her reach, that will fade away as the morning light filters in through her bedroom window.

Her mouth moves down, from Zelos’s lips to her cheeks to her neck to her chest, and Zelos grips her hair tightly, whispering her name like it is the only word she knows, and—

From the bedside table, a phone rings.

Zelos gasps, sitting up, and Lloyd tumbles off of her, surprised.

“That stupid phone,” she complains, even as she stands to answer it, not bothering to fix the buttons on her shirt or her mussed hair.

She shoots Lloyd an apologetic smile, then answers it with only a quick glance at the caller ID, as if she isn’t really looking at it at all.

“Hello?”

She is silent for a moment as the person on the other side speaks, and then she sits down heavily, lips turned down.

“Seles? Well, I—”

Quiet. Then:

“I—yeah, but—”

Zelos runs a hand through her hair, looking frustrated.

“I don’t understand. It shouldn’t be—” She stops, then scrunches up her nose. Though she is clearly irritated, Lloyd can’t help but think that the look is adorable. “I forgot to change it, that’s all. ...Uh, fraud, or something. I don’t know. Listen, I’ll just—”

Lloyd comes beside her and grabs her free hand, tracing absent circles over her palm.

Zelos does not even look at her.

“Come here, then,” she says. “If that’s what you want.”

The person on the other side of the phone says something, and Zelos scowls.

“I never said that. I can send someone to you, if that’s what you want.”

She stops, listening.

“Well, it’s not _my_ fault,” she snaps. “You can stay here if you’re so— What? That doesn’t even make _sense_.”

Lloyd leans against Zelos, pressing her nose into the girl’s hair.

“Whatever. I’ll send someone to pick you up. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

Zelos pulls the phone away and hangs it up, dropping it on the table again.

“Who was that?”

Zelos turns to her, pressing a soft kiss against her nose.

“My sister,” she says. “I pay her rent, but apparently it hasn’t been going through… God knows I have too many bank accounts to keep track of it all. I guess something changed and they kept trying to charge that card, but it’s not going anywhere. Seles is all mad because she hates me and stuff, but they’re threatening to evict her because she hasn’t paid rent in so long, so I told her to come here until it gets all smoothed out.” She sighs, taking her hand away from Lloyd’s. “I have to go send someone to pick her up, if she’ll even _take_ the offer, but— Oh, do you just want to wear the clothes you had one yesterday? I’ll make sure they get washed right away.”

“Um, sure, but—”

Zelos is already standing, though. “I’ll be back,” she promises, and leaves the room without another word.

Lloyd watches the door, chest hurting a bit, and then she flops back with a sigh.

She doesn’t know how long she lies there, staring at the ceiling and her stomach crawling with dissatisfaction, but eventually the door opens again and someone sits beside her.

“Sorry,” Zelos mutters.

Lloyd frowns up at her. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Seles hates me,” Zelos says quietly. “We don’t even talk unless it’s about money. She’s too sickly to work, so I cover all her costs… I think she thinks I do it so she ‘owes’ me, but I don’t really care…” She bites her lip. “Either way, let me make it up to you.” Suddenly, she is leaning over Lloyd, grinning. “I think we could probably both use a shower, hm?”

Lloyd laughs. “If you’re asking me to shower with you, the answer is no.”

Zelos pouts.

“Maybe another time,” Lloyd says. “When you’re not trying to distract me from your problems.”

“You’re too smart,” Zelos tells her, smile falling.

Lloyd snorts. “You’d probably be the first person who’s ever said _that_ to me. Either way, I won’t make you talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’m just saying that I can help you through this stuff, just like you were there for me through everything with Kratos. But I can’t help if I never know what’s wrong.”

Zelos tucks her legs in close to her, sitting cross-legged and measuring Lloyd with a very serious look.

“You’re incredible, you know that?”

“Incredibly good at making you realize what a dumbass you’re being?”

“Maybe,” Zelos concedes. “But I would be tempted to say to that that it takes one to know one.”

Lloyd huffs.

“But you’re right, obviously,” Zelos continues. “Honestly, there’s not much to say about it. Seles and I used to be close, when we were kids. Kind of hard to stay close when...all _that_ happens, though. She could’ve been the one who made it like I did, but she was always frail, and I was born first. I guess over time we sort of grew jealous of each other. I look happy from where the press sees me, but her life looks so much _easier_ than mine. Peace, quiet… Hardly anybody even thinks about her anymore.”

“Do you really hate being famous so much?”

Zelos hums. “It’s not all bad. Really, I have it pretty good. But I _hate_ that the rest of the world thinks they deserve a say in my business. It’s stupid. Can you imagine that? Thinking you own a stranger’s life? You can’t, because you’re a good person. Most people aren’t.”

Lloyd does not know what to say to this, but Zelos doesn’t ask her to speak. Instead, she stretches her arms above her head and moves her neck a bit, as if it is stiff. When she looks down to Lloyd again, she’s wearing another playful smile.

“Seles might be here soon,” she says, “so why don’t you go ahead and shower? You can meet her for yourself, if you want to.”

Lloyd sits up and nods. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” Zelos leans forward and kisses her cheek. “Don’t take too long, though! I’ll get lonely.”

Lloyd rolls her eyes and gets up, making her way to the washroom. She knows Zelos will probably use this time to wash, too—one of the perks about having such a large house, Lloyd supposes, is that one never has to wait to shower—and so she lets that ease her mind as she gets in the shower and scrubs away the makeup still on her face from the night before and rinses out whatever the hell they put in her _hair_.

A part of her wonders what it would be like if she had accepted Zelos’s offer to shower together, and then she has to take an extra fifteen minutes to herself, the water nowhere near enough on their own to flush the thoughts away.

By the time she is finished and returns to Zelos’s room, her clothes are folded on the bed and waiting for her. Zelos, on the other hand, is nowhere to be seen.

She dresses quickly, then makes her way downstairs, not even bothering to run a comb or something through her still slightly wet hair. As she thought, Zelos is at the table, Sebastian hovering near, and there is another girl there, too, same red hair but shorter, smaller.

“Miss Irving,” Sebastian says loudly, and Zelos and the girl—Seles, Lloyd guesses—both turn to look.

“Who is this?” Seles asks, narrowing her eyes.

The relief in Zelos’s posture is impossible to miss.

Lloyd approaches the table carefully, then offers a hand out to Seles.

“This is Lloyd,” Zelos says as Seles take her hand and shakes it. “My…”

“Girlfriend,” Lloyd says boldly.

Zelos laughs at this, but nods. “My girlfriend.”

“You’re the girl they’ve been writing all those articles about,” Seles says, pulling her arm away and resting her hands in her lap. “Right?”

Lloyd glances at Zelos, then looks to Seles again. “Y-yeah, I guess so.”

“I’m surprised my sister keeps you around,” Seles says mildly. “I thought maybe it was true that you were just friends.”

“We were,” Zelos says, and now she is scowling. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Let’s not fight,” Lloyd suggests, coming around Zelos’s side to sit down. “It’s nice to meet you, Seles.”

“You know my name?”

“What?” Zelos snaps. “Are you surprised it’s not some sort of taboo word?”

“A little bit.”

“Zelos has never said anything bad about you,” Lloyd says quickly.

“That’s a surprise,” Seles mutters. “You kept the piano, too.”

Lloyd blinks, following the girl’s gaze to where the grand piano in the other room is.

“I thought maybe you might still play,” Zelos tells her. “Do you?”

“Probably not very well.”

“Why don’t you try?” Zelos suggests. “You can show off to my _girlfriend_ , here.”

Lloyd tries not to let the blood she feels in her cheeks show.

“I—I don’t think I—”

“It’ll be fine,” Zelos insists. “Just try it.”

Seles watches her a moment, then sighs and nods, standing up to allow her sister to lead her into the other room. Lloyd follows after them, and then stands to the side with Zelos while Seles sits at the piano and lifts the lid.

Zelos leans in close to her, breath tickling around her ear.

“Girlfriend, huh?” she asks.

“Do you not want that?” Lloyd challenges.

She laughs. “I never said that. I’m just surprised, is all.”

“Is it a good surprise?”

Zelos nips her ear gently, sending a shiver down her spine.

“A very good surprise,” she promises, but they don’t get a chance to say anything more before a very out of tune note comes from the piano.

“Have you _ever_ tuned this thing, sis?”

Zelos looks between Seles and the piano, helpless. “How in the world do I do that?”

Seles begins explaining to her, and Lloyd watches as the sisters toy around with the piano, trying to figure it out together, laughing every now and then.

By the time they decide it is good enough, it doesn’t sound perfect, but Seles plays a damn _beautiful_ song.

* * *

“I think we should go public.”

Lloyd can see the way Zelos tenses at this, but she doesn’t stop:

“There’s no point in hiding forever,” she stresses. “They’ll leave us alone eventually, right? But these gossip articles are getting more and more outrageous. You know, last week, I saw someone say that we probably have some sort of sugar mommy, sugar baby thing going on.”

“Don’t we?”

“ _No_ ,” Lloyd says, exasperated. “The only reason you buy me so many things is because you’ll practically pin me to the floor before I get a chance to pay for myself.”

Zelos sighs. “I don’t know, Lloyd. It’s only been a couple weeks.”

“All the more reason,” Lloyd insists. “Don’t you think that it’ll be good for us? Then we don’t have to dodge around everywhere we go, either, and I can actually get mad at you for flirting with other girls in public.”

“Oh?” Zelos raises an eyebrow. “Does that make you jealous, hunny?”

“No comment.”

“That’s _basically_ a yes.”

“Does that make you _happy_?” Lloyd demands.

“A little bit. I mean, if you’re feeling possessive of me, _I_ don’t mind. I like it when you put me in my place.”

Lloyd looks away from her scowling.

Zelos laughs. “Really, though, I’m just worried about you. They won’t be nice to you. People will get mad. Threaten you. Threaten _me_.”

“I don’t care,” Lloyd says firmly. “Nobody else’s opinion matters to me but yours.”

Zelos watches her for a long moment, and then she sits back with a sigh. Their lunch sits between them, mostly untouched.

“You’re crazy,” she decides. “But I guess that’s what I like about you so much.”

“What? It’s not my good lucks?”

Zelos purses her lips. “That’s just a bonus, I guess.”

“Ass.”

“You love my ass.”

Lloyd groans.

Zelos just grins, though. “Okay,” she says. “I’ll contact my publicist, then. We’ll have to make it a big deal, since it’s me and all.”

“Is that so?”

“ _Yes_. But for now, let’s not worry about it.” Zelos taps a finger against the table, watching Lloyd with what look like an attempt at a sultry look. “There’s a girl at this table that I don’t think I can go another moment with kissing.”

“Wow,” Lloyd says dryly. “I knew you loved yourself, but that’s a _bit_ extreme.”

Zelos laughs. “And _I’m_ the ass? Come on, baby, don’t be like that.”

Before Lloyd can protest, Zelos is standing and coming around to her, arms around her neck and lips against hers. It is slow at first, and then Lloyd’s lips part slightly and Zelos deepens the kiss, pressing her body against Lloyd’s despite their awkward position.

“We can talk about it after, right?” Lloyd murmurs against her lips, and Zelos giggles in response.

“Sure,” she agrees as Lloyd gets to her feet, breaking their kiss. “First you’ll make passionate love to me, though, right?”

Lloyd rolls her eyes. “Maybe if you ask a little more _nicely_.”

Still, it doesn’t stop them from moving up the stairs, towards Zelos’s room.

Zelos clings to her, pouting. “I’m _always_ nice.”

Lloyd snorts, opening the door and walking them inside. “I think we have different definitions of nice.”

This time, when Zelos frowns at her, she captures her lips again.

She closes the door behind them.

Like this, the only person Zelos can look at is her. And that’s _exactly_ how it should be.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are always appreciated! xx
> 
> p.s. you can also catch me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/laphicets) or [tumblr](http://guremahi.tumblr.com)!


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